Mudskippers

I had a great conversation with my parents tonight. They are Christians, and I am a secular humanist. But we have a great deal of respect for each other. My dad actually asked me tonight, 100% sincerely, what secular humanists do instead of praying. We talked about law and diabetes, and I showed my mom a video of a mudskipper during our conversation about evolution (you might be surprised to know that our views on evolution aren't actually all that polarized). I am extremely fortunate to have the relationship with my parents that I do.

Unfortunately, some people aren't so lucky. Some people are so enmeshed in their faith, so controlled by (what I view as) words of men with the facade of a god, that they fail to see other important things--like the feelings of their children, or feelings of others in general. I'm not singling out any one faith here--people of all faiths have the potential to be this way. (Even people who do not subscribe to any faith can be this way, for that matter).

The thing is, as much as people like this may say otherwise, they need to be accountable to someone other than their god--whether that "god" be the Christian God, science, a Hindu god, or The Flying Spaghetti Monster. And if they want to complain about this accountability infringing on their "religious freedom," let it be known to them that they are taking away another's freedom for their own. It's like a slave owner complaining about being enslaved.

If you are the slave in this metaphorical relationship and want help, please check out this site. I wish you all the best and I hope you find your freedom.