The Jewmanist

Teach the controversy! Oh, well, wait..

The chief scientist in Israel’s ministry of education, Gavriel Avital, “sparked a furor” by questioning the reliability of evolution and global warming, leading to calls for his dismissal, according to Haaretz (February 21, 2010). “If textbooks state explicitly that human beings’ origins are to be found with monkeys, I would want students to pursue and grapple with other opinions. There are many people who don’t believe the evolutionary account is correct,” he was quoted as saying. “There are those for whom evolution is a religion and are unwilling to hear about anything else. Part of my responsibility, in light of my position with the Education Ministry, is to examine textbooks and curricula.”

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Hava Yablonka of Tel Aviv University told Haaretz that Avital’s statements were tantamount “to saying that space should be given in textbooks to the view that the earth is flat and the sun revolves around it. It’s astonishing that the chief scientist of a government ministry can say such bizarre things.”

Where do we get our creativity and inspiration from? It’s different for everyone. As a teen, I began writing (I also drew and painted some). I wrote many poems railing against “the system”. I wasn’t 100% certain what I even meant by that at the time. Yet I think it had something to do with what I could easily refer to as the Expected Steps of Life that are pushed on us by religious institutions, political figureheads, and our families. After childhood we’re all pushed towards college, then the must-have job that you hate, get married to the first warm body (of the opposite sex) that hangs around for a few months, have 2.5 kids, buy a house, and mess up your kids in a similar fashion that your parents did to you (to a lesser extent if they’re lucky). Continuing the job you hate while saving for a retirement you so you can finally enjoy your money and spouse. These steps are all a part of the “American Dream” and must not be done out of order!

As some of you may know, I moved from Los Angeles to Miami not too long ago. I grew up here so I’m no stranger. It’s almost eerily familiar. One of my main motivations for moving out west was my degree in Film Production (U of Miami, 2003) and it was much better served out there. As much as I loved (and still do) the art of making short films and other related media, I think I may have preferred to study motion graphics or web design. Still, the experience and journey is worth it every moment.

Because atheists like giving (and getting) gifts too!

There’s quite a thorough list of secular charities at Effort Sisyphus:

DonorsChoose.org: a simple way to provide students in need with resources that our public schools often lack.

Kiva.org: lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world.

The Union of Concerned Scientists: The leading science-based non-profit working for a healthy environment and safer world.

American Red Cross: The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by volunteers, guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement, will provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. The USA’s premier emergency response organization, over 91% of Red Cross spending is on charitable services.

Just to name a few. See them all.