I decided it is time to join the blogosphere.  I stated many times that I would not conform to this modern form of ego-stroking.  Who would possibly care about the thoughts rattling around in my head?  Why did I do it?  The simplest answer is out of frustration.  I am tired of reading the paper and putting it down in disgust.  I am tired of watching the news and changing the channel in dismay.  I am tired of overhearing so many tidbits of conversation (on a daily basis) that leave me walking away and shaking my head.  What could one person do against the tide of ignorance and insanity?  My answer was to write.  To write with the hope that perhaps others will find what I have to say encouraging, interesting, or better yet thought provoking.  Most of my posts will be related to articles that I read daily.

Where has the ability to reason gone?  It seems that many people no longer think for themselves.  They accept the canned answers provided to them by the political and religious forces that bombard us constantly.  In the U.S. both parties and all religions are guilty of this.   It has become too rare that we stop to question what we hear.  It is too common that we accept as fact, that what has no proof—be it political or religious.

I consider myself a secular humanist.  I do not believe that a God exists.  I do not believe that morality, in any way, has its roots in religion.  I embrace reason, ethics and science and reject dogma, superstition, and pseudoscience.   I believe that the human mind is a wonderfully complex organ.  Furthermore, that it is capable of discovering much about our universe, creation, our own bodies—many scientists and other modern thinkers are working on these ancient questions as I write these words.  I believe in proof and fact, not faith.

I am inspired by current authors and thinkers such as Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow—to name a few.

Many of the great free thinkers of the past also played a large role in my life—from Lucretius, Hobbes, and Hume to Christopher Hitchens and many in between.

I do not pretend or claim to be an expert on anything that I am writing about.  I look for facts and use reason to form my opinions.  I am always open to discussion and welcome debate.  It is often through debate that we learn the most.

I created this blog as a place for rational discussion on germane Secular Humanist and atheist topics in today’s world

Oh yeah—the question, “Why Reason Being?”—I find wordplay to be quite entertaining.

Thanks for Reading,

John Richards