educational videos

***Announcement***
I've just had my wisdom teeth out, and though the swelling is slowly fading i'm not yet back on solid foods and i'm still hurtin' a good deal. I've been laid up and doped up with ice around my jaw, reading webcomics and getting the Boy to read me stories since tuesday, so i've had a lot of time to let my mind wander.

I've come to the realization that what we need in America is a new "prohibited" sign for public buildings--in addition to those forbidding concealed firearms, dogs, smoking, cell phones, solicitation, and chewing gum, we need a sign that reads "no theism." you could even make it graphical--containing as many different symbols for religions (or rebellion against such) as you can possibly cram into 4"x4"--so that even illiterate bible thumpers know the rules. These can be glue-backed or static cling so they can be displayed on doors and windows of buildings where religious bias and voiciferous theistic or atheistic sentiments are not allowed. These decals are a must for any government office or state-supported institution such as public education and healthcare and should also be available for purchase by business and homeowners in office-supply stores.

Applying one of these decals to your home or office should not indicate to your guests or clients anything about the beliefs of the owners or employees, but rather it should serve as a reminder to everyone present that the establishment functions without concern for it. In that way we can ensure that children are not being taught christianity or atheism in the classroom--they can be taught science--that is, what can be learned through experiment and analysis. We can be sure that women can get their prescriptions for birth control filled and their abortions performed if need be, but they are not pressured into preventing birth if they don't want to. We can be sure government spending is not skewed toward or away from any religious group. We can be sure all behavior surrounding sex can be universally understood from a biological perspective--whatever else you want to teach it is your buisness within the walls of your church or home. The function of the "no theism" sign is clear--"if you choose to enter this establishment, kindly leave your religion outside."

That said, since chances are that idea won't catch on, the secular world could actually do what the religiosos are accusing them of doing and distribute anti-religious literature on the other side of the street from them. While the First Self-Righteous Church of Columbia has their youth group stuffing "Jesus is the only way to heaven" pamphlets into the hands of every drunken college student in 5 Points, an equally loud and obnoxious team of youngsters can thrust "religion is for followers" pamphlets in the stumbling student's other hand and both can look dissatisfied when the kid vomits on them and throws them away. As Americans we have the freedom to speak up about whatever beliefs we choose, but rarely do you see people (at least in the south) using said freedom for anything except Christianity and racism. Personally, i'd love to see a table set up at the next university fresher's week handing out educational videos discouraging new students from joining the Campus Crusade for Christ (et al)--not because i don't want students to join the groups, but just to throw in a bit of variety. It'd be great--i can hear the introduction now:

"Hello, and welcome to "Secularism and You." In the next twenty minutes we'll take an in-depth look at the benefits of the religion-free, worry-free lifestyle that you can enjoy absolutely free of charge in just two easy steps. By the end of this video tutorial we hope you will gain the confidence to just say "no" the next time you are asked to join a religious group or student bible study--it'll be the right choice."

I'd imagine the two easy steps would be something like "1. recognize that religion is a human invention stemming from mankind's inherent fear of the unknown." and "2. affirm that there will always be things you don't know and get on with your life. have a nice day." Oh if only the Preston kids were still radical lunatics this pro-social effort might be realized. Curse my laziness--i'd never spearhead it myself. I'd also like to see a "leave me alone" political party formed, but that's something of an oxymoron so nevermind. wow my next round of pain meds just kicked in. I should probably stop typing before this stops being incoherent drivel and becomes incoherent drivel with spelling errors. wheee.