by Gary Berg-Cross
There’s now considerable coverage of the Reason Rally. An example is USA Today's Richard Dawkins titled article with his quotes, as well as a random sampling of what some other prominent speakers such as:
- Friendly atheist blogger Hemant Mehta urged people to run for office, any post from school board to Congress to dogcatcher.
- Greta Christina, author of Why Are You Atheists So Angry?, attacked every major faith, even the teachings of the Dalai Lama. In a long litany of what makes her angry, she got all the way back to Galileo (overlooking the modern Catholic Church's restoration of his reputation).
- Adam Savage, co-host of Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel, said there really is someone who loves and protects him and watches over his actions -- "It's me!"
Various folks have their candidate for 10 best signs at the Reason Rally, including the Village Voice, while others are posting pictures from the Rally. All contributing to a secular archive and perhaps an inspiration for the next rally. People are talking about it.
Leal (JoyfulGypsy) used the CNN ireport for some commentary on excellent the mix of rhetoric from professional performers - singer/comedian Tim Minchin (rapping Storm), comedian Eddie Izzard, Mythbusters star Adam Savage & reasoned speeches from Richard Dawkins, Michael Shermer, Laurence Krauss and James Randi. She made the point that Reason Rally's success will be measured by the head count or the media immediate media coverage. Rather its success will be better judged by, “how well it starts what will be a long journey to a more secular future.”
With that in mind Secular Perspectives would welcome attendees and interested parties thoughts on this, starting with a sharing of stories and thoughts from the day and follow up. Many people, such as on Twitter, have remarked about the emotional high and being " beyond thrilled". Participants reported a wonderful sense of having a real community and the joy of being together with kind, thoughtful and kindred spirits. A feast of eager-to-discuss-reasonably people. As a coming out event for some it was perhaps an ending of a splendid isolation to a more splendid community in which one can honorably belong and identify with.
I think that collecting some of these thoughts and stories in one place like Secular Perspectives will help keep the moment, break down more solitary walls and move forward on our journey towards a more enlightened and humanistic society. So please add your thoughts, haiku, photos, stories, life session, quotes etc. to the site, either as commentary to this blog or a new blog if you wish.
"I have children. I want to raise them in a world they can add value
to, that has value for them. I want for them to feel entitled only to
working hard at doing what they love, in order to be excellent at it,
and to share their lives and the rewards with those that they love. "
