BRIGHTS BULLETIN -- NOVEMBER 2010
Update on the Wall Poster Project
Many Brights have expressed interest in the evolution
poster project for schools. The project will spread word
of the movement while providing eager science teachers
with a superb teaching resource.
The planned October kickoff has been postponed at least
a month so we can put the
poster pictorial through a vetting process with the
National Association of Biology Teachers (USA). A Bright
who prefers to remain anonymous has sent a $US1000
donation designated specifically to enable the NABT
assessment. At Brights Central (BC) we are delighted,
because a vetting process will give assurance to proceed
with the largest printing that Brights in the
constituency can muster, reducing the “per poster cost”
as low as possible. (Note the unique size and shape!)
With the cooperation of one of the pictorial’s
developers, we will be able to submit the poster
pictorial to the NABT board’s review and also to
scrutiny by 50 classroom teachers who will be attending
the organization’s annual convention November 3-5.
(Thanks to the interest and generosity of the donor and
two small contributions from donors excited by the
project, we are able to produce 50 posters to for the
pilot review by 50 classroom teachers.)
All subsequent funds to print and disseminate posters
will have to come from donations by Brights who want to
facilitate teaching of evolution in schools. We will
have to see how generous Brights can be for this worthy
purpose. While you await the main call for donations to
the project, you can start putting funds in your piggy
bank now.
So, You Want Your Own Poster?
We have been contacted by a number of Brights who would
like to order the evolution poster for themselves, or
for home schooling purposes, parenting goals, etc.
However, we cannot sell it due to the copyright
restrictions on material the developers used in creating
the pictorial. (There is no other distributor.)
The Brights' Net will be able only to give away the
poster for educational purposes. Thus, it seems
reasonable that we target dissemination to high school
science teachers who have curricular responsibility
commensurate with the poster’s content. We will be
collecting earmarked donations from Brights, and seeing
how many such classrooms we can impact. (Sometimes there
are as many as 150 students in a single classroom across
a day, so a high school science classroom may give
exposure to scores of pupils per wall chart.)
It is possible that a large donor may step forward that
would enable us to revise the agreement under which we
are to operate at this point, which is simply
supplying the poster to the priority category of
teachers (who will complete a statement of agreement).
Brights’ Forum Reports a Bit of “Brightening” (Italy)
Forum member "Alien", a leading member of the Italian
Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics reports, in
the Forum Topic titled
"A Bright Success" that for the first time in Italy,
a hospital has endorsed a program allowing non-religious
volunteers to provide "moral and non-confessional
support" for patients upon request.
This new program is instituted at Hospital Molinette in
Turin.
Alien says, "Now, finally, after one year of work from
our people in UAAR Turin, there is a possibility to get
moral assistance that is not religious. A 'bright'
assistance, and a bright result of my friends, let me
say."
But the Forum is not just a place to get important news
from Brights in our globe-girdling constituency, it is
also a place to relax among friends and discuss whatever
interests you, whether
pets,
chess, or awesome images of
natural events.
Register today!
Brights on Linkedin
The Brights have a group page on the networking site for
professionals,
linkedin.com. Please note that BC’s staff is not
personally participating. Nonetheless, the site can
serve as a valuable tool for Brights in the constituency
to help one another.
All By Myself - What Can I Do?
It is typical for new registrants to write comments that
they know “no one else” in their community who hold a
naturalistic outlook.
They may not be as isolated as they think! Many persons
who have a naturalistic stance are around. They simply
are reticent to reveal the fact when occasions arise.
Even when circumstances are opportune, they tend to stay
silent. Consequently, they miss opportunities to
encounter others who also have a worldview free of
supernatural.
Still, the question arises as to how individuals in
isolation can help to advance this movement. They can!
Besides offering general support to the organization, a
number of
suggestions for beneficial activities are provided
on the website.
Overcoming Reticence
It’s possible! However, because so much familiar
terminology is religion-referenced and weighted with
cultural meaning, the language you use to explain your
understanding of the world does present a problem. So,
be sure to consider a range of options.
This movement, by presenting a fresh framework for
consideration, offers you some new language options. One
may…
* One may “have a naturalistic worldview”
* Or be a “participant in the Brights movement”
* Or belong as “a member of the Brights’ constituency”
* Or self-identify by a new and different label, as “a
Bright”)
It’s up to each individual to choose a path to
surmounting reticence, being open about one’s personal
understanding of the world when it differs from those
around.
The general Brights movement focus is on being
affirmative, positive, and constructive (when engaging
with other citizens). See
Principle #8:
And How Did You Hear?
In answer to that question on the registration form,
many new Brights tell how they were led to investigate
the Brights’ website. Of the several stories received at
BC this month, the following tale was the most
interesting:
From Derrick (Michigan, USA): “I was asked to pray for
someone. I responded with, ‘I'm sorry. I'm not a
believer but I wish her luck... I hope she gets better.’
I was then told that there is a group of people like me,
who are not believers, so I decided to check this site
out.”
Commentary on Nonbelievers’ Beliefs
From BC: Who says that a Bright is a nonbeliever?
Derrick (in the prior item) says so himself, so who is
to say that he is not? We’d like to be, because we’d
bet that he actually believes in a great many things.
He surely doesn’t “believe in nothing” (a common
accusation). A great panorama of beliefs held by the
typical Bright just happens not to include some tenets
that the broader society deems important to hold.
Brights of many stripes are accustomed to
self-identifying as nonbelievers, acceding to the
existing cultural influences. The media will surely want
to cast any Bright as such – simply for not accepting as
true the deity-belief that prevails in society. It’s not
at all unusual that any of us would describe ourselves
as our culture does. But should we really be doing it?
Interestingly, when one accepts and uses this negative
characterization, one only reinforces its use!
People who have a naturalistic worldview can, if they
wish, begin to exercise another option. It may take some
thought and practice, but you can choose to affirm your
outlook in a broader and positive way. As Brights, we
are “a group of people who have a naturalistic
worldview,” and it’s really up to us to illuminate and
elevate it in constructive ways! (Please see the tagline
atop this Bulletin!)
Example: “I responded (to the request to pray for
someone) with, ‘I'm sorry, but I have a naturalistic
worldview. I do wish her luck, of course, and I very
much hope that she gets better.’”
Support Worth a Nod
This month we’d like to give mention and gratitude to a
couple of Brights (Edwin and Michelle) for their
actions. Whatever they are imbibing in Washington State,
we’d like to suggest it to others!
Edwin (Washington, USA): “I always access Amazon via the
brights so my purchases will benefit our movement!”
From BC: Thank you, Edwin. Amazon is the painless way to
support the Brights movement. 7% of every purchase - IF
you start the shopping session via the
Brights’ link, that is.
Michelle (Washington, USA), who mentioned her company’s
“giving month” and sent a note to BC to tell other
Brights: “They might not realize that the Brights
organization is one of the ‘approved’ organizations on
our long list of orgs. that can receive matching funds…
You might want to send a reminder to the entire Brights
population to check whether they can donate through
their company and have the Brights receive matching
funds.”
From BC: Thank you, Michelle. We are sending this
reminder right now! It seems that a great many employers
will match, or even double, an employee’s donation to a
nonprofit. Brights can check with their company to see
if it will match a gift to The Brights’ Net. If yours
does so, obtain a form from the H.R. department,
complete your portion of the form, and mail it to us! We
will do the rest.
Advice from One Bright to Other Brights
Mike (Suffolk, UK): “I have stopped describing myself as
an ‘atheist’. Although in Britain being an atheist is
not something to hide in most circumstances anymore, I
do not like to define myself as a negative (someone who
doesn’t believe something). Instead, I describe myself,
very positively, as a humanist (or sometimes even as a
bright). I have been doing this for several years and it
is no longer too difficult. I’d like to recommend this
point to other brights”
Just One Book – Please Name It!
When it comes to parenting and education, Brights
generally talk a lot about “critical thinking skills.”
They favor not just sparking children’s curiosity, but
also building habits of inquiry and skepticism, and
sustaining them, too! Still, many circumstances work
against a child successfully maintaining an inquiring
mind while growing up. Surely we who are ourselves free
of supernatural/mystical beliefs have some ideas about
how best to nourish youngsters in ways that may aid
their acquiring practices that can, in the face of so
many countering influences, at least keep open the
possibility of a naturalistic worldview option.
A local Brights Action Meetup in California is on the
lookout for top material to promote in children (up to
age 12) habits of skepticism and evidence-seeking
conduct. Some materials are available, but members are
hoping to learn what other Brights - especially those
who are parents or relatives or otherwise closely
involved with children – consider to be the absolute
best. After identifying these topmost books, the group’s
members want to check locally to see if those item(s)
are actually available in their community’s bookstores
and public libraries and, especially, in the terribly
under-resourced school libraries. They want to act
locally to gather resources and begin to make the book
(or books) available.
Especially desired is material that avoids the
religion/faith arena and leans toward nurturing
experiences (not indoctrination in naturalism). Perhaps
there is no single “magic” book that nurtures
inquisitive thinking, divergent thinking, skepticism,
etc., but certainly some books are superb. So, can you
help? Send your suggestion for the absolute best book
you know of to
the-brights@the-brights.net . Put ONE BOOK in upper
case in your subject line.
Registration Comments (In-Box)
Nick (South Carolina, USA): “It is frightening that we
cannot be more open about our lack of belief in the
supernatural out of fear of reprisal. Perhaps your
effort here will pave the way for a saner society.”
Jay (Illinois, USA): “This is a truly wonderful and
helpful idea. My warmest regards and humble thanks go
out to the founders and to each and every member!”
Ernesto (Mexico): “I’m trying to find a new philosophy
for my life. I think that there is nothing better to
follow than a way of life more connected to the reality
than with the supernatural beliefs.”
Randy (Tennessee, USA): “I accept a wholly naturalistic
view of the universe, the world, and life itself. I know
it is impossible to disprove a negative, but I cannot
accept belief in supernatural explanations as means to
cover for man's ignorance. The utter magnificence of the
universe and the simplistic beauty of evolution via
natural selection make me humble beyond words and, in a
strange sense, quite religious indeed.”
Larry (Arizona, USA): “I am thrilled!! Have I been a
Bright all along? Indeed, I believe I have and now I am
part of this sharing community.”
New Arrangement for Books by Brights
The page listed so many books (in alphabetical order by
title) was getting so long it had become unwieldy. We
have made a start at improving the situation by creating
four broad categories:
Fiction
Nonfiction (grounded in a naturalistic,
philosophical, and/or civics framework)
Nonfiction (based on a primarily
religion-referenced framework)
Juvenile and/or Education & Parenting
Authors: The categorization of your book was
accomplished by BC staff reading your own description.
Reviews in Amazon (if available) were consulted when in
doubt about the placement. If you think your book has
been placed into the wrong category, please email
the-brights@the-brights.net to explain. (Put MY BOOK
in your subject line.)
Language Translation Pilot Moves Ahead (Espanol)
It is desirable that explanatory information now
presented in English on the international site be made
available in other languages and in a similar way.
Volunteers Manel and Francesc have been tackling the
first translation (into Spanish), with Mike, the web guy
at Brights Central, helping to get the functionality and
graphics for it going. With this pilot effort, we’re
hoping to smooth out enough wrinkles that other
volunteer translations can be accomplished. Nice
progress to see at:
November Brings Changes at Brights Central
We at BC will be busy in November packing and moving and
unpacking again! Right now we are searching for a new
office location for the international hub of
communications and activity. The current lease has long
been contingent on another company’s commitment. As that
company has moved out of the building, we will have to
move, too! The bad part is that our present lease has
been well below market rates. So, after over two years,
this will be quite an adjustment! We are not likely to
find any such bargain again, but here’s hoping we can at
least manage the changes.
Brights co-founder Paul Geisert is also making an
adjustment. Unfortunately, just this past weekend he
took a spill and has a broken pelvis to show for it.
Fortunately, no surgery was required. Still, this
accident will put a serious crimp in his mobility for at
least a month.
Activist Brights and Supporters
Remember that you can financially support the civic aims
and principles of the Brights movement by donating to
The Brights’ Net nonprofit organization. Guidance for
all of the available methods are
on the website.
Besides the option of sending a check by postal mail
(US$), there are a whole variety of “donate quickly”
ways to contribute. PayPal handles international
currencies, but there are other online pathways
available (JustGive, GuideStar/Network for Good,
Givv.org , Facebook Causes). Check out your
employer’s matching gift plan – it may lead to equaling
or even doubling your own contribution. A six-month
subscription at PayPal or any online channel is very
helpful to planning. Thanks!
Reference Guide to Contacting Personnel and Locating
Information
All the Bulletins, including this one, may be found via
the link in the right column of the home page at
http://www.the-brights.net
