Atheist.

Went to the Providence Atheist Meetup last night, and had a pretty good time. My friend Dan has been encouraging me to speak my mind and to push the group in the direction that I think they should go. After some coaching from _earthshine_, I went for it.

I sat next to one of the officers of the Greater Worchester Humanists. I asked him what the club did. We danced around the fact that, really, they don’t *do* anything. Sure, they’re getting Chomsky as a guest speaker this summer. Sure, they have bylaws … but what do you *do*? Nothing. He offered up front that he is frustrated that they’re so small that they can’t sponsor significant charity on their own. I suggested that they might do well to find allies in the world who also want to do good. They might even have to choke back their bile and work side by side with people of faith.

That went over about as well as might be expected … but I decided to keep at it.

We talked about Haiti, about the protesters at the ACOG conference, and about thinking locally. How the vast majority of people who attend church do so because it’s their culture, because it’s where their family and friends and support network are. Because they wake up and want to do good in the world. We talked about the fact that if you try to do good in the world, you *will* wind up shoulder to shoulder with people of faith … and that fact should teach both parties something very important.

Most particularly I said this:

I can’t stomach adding any more negativity to the world. I can’t simmer and stew in irritation of my own making. To that end, Dawkins, Harris, and the other angst-stirring militant atheists hold little attraction for me. Sure, they’re clever. Of course, within their own world of logic, they’re terribly compelling. But fundamentally they’re in it to pick fights and to upset people. That may be fine and good for them … but I need to focus on creating positives in the world … rather than grinding and accentuating negatives.