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A Catholic, a Baptist, and a Secular Humanist Walk Into a Soup Kitchen ...
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/06/a-catholic-a-baptist-and-a-secular-humanist-walk-into-a-soup-kitchen/277379/
Therapy dogs and their handlers from Therapy Dogs International walk down a ravaged street in Moore, Oklahoma. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)
In his Time Magazine cover story last week on veterans and public service, journalist Joe Klein stepped outside the line of his narrative to take a swipe at secular humanists. Describing his personal experience in the aftermath of the Oklahoma tornado working alongside an "army of relief workers" including "church groups from all over the country," he remarked, "funny how you don't see organized groups of secular humanists giving out hot meals..."
It turns out that Klein was wrong on the facts. There were plenty of humanist groups involved in relief efforts - clearing wreckage, raising aid for local relief organizations, donating money to survivors, and supporting food banks. As Dale McGowan pointed out in The Washington Post on June 27, perhaps the greatest irony is that in the very same sentence that Klein took a potshot at humanists, he extolled Team Rubicon, a veterans organization that happened to be the primary beneficiary of a post-superstorm Sandy fund drive organized by the secular charity, Foundation Beyond Belief.
It's also worth pointing out the obvious: many secular humanists, atheists, and freethinkers contributed to disaster-relief efforts even if they did not do so while wearing hats and T-shirts that advertised their belief system. Had Klein made the same point about any other group--such as, "funny how you don't see any organized groups of Hindus, Korean-Americans, or gay activists giving out hot meals"--his aside would have been so obviously offensive that it would never have made it past his editor.
Klein's waffling response when called out by peeved secularists didn't help too much. He took the criticism of his reporting as an opportunity to express some personal opinions on religious questions.
53 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
To steal from Groucho, I'd never want to be in a club that would take me as a member.
Doesn't bother me too much, really. I don't want to be identified by what I don't believe in. Just by not believing in it, it's kinda obvious that the whole "thing" isn't fucking important to me. I'm more about being identified as "the guy who isn't an asshole." Perhaps Joe Klein's opinion differs on that particular point 
He's the best, isn't he?
For example, OpOK Relief is having a clean-up event today:
Saturday – 9:00am to 8:00pm (6/29): Major cleanup operation in Newalla this weekend. The property at the end of Blueridge Road East in Newalla has severe tornado damage, and the homeowner has not received any help with cleaning it up. Her trailer was completely destroyed, and her quilt workshop as well. A large number of trees were also decimated by the storm. This weekend, we will be focusing on tree removal and moving some of the debris up to the road so it can be cleared out. It’s a large project, and we can use all the volunteers we can get!
Lots more listed at their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OpOKRelief
http://swampland.time.com/2013/06/25/secular-humanist-watch/
Well, there’s been a bit of a kerfuffle about my observation in this week’s cover story, that you don’t see organized groups of secular humanists giving out hot meals in disaster relief areas like Moore, Oklahoma, after the tornados. Let me explain.
First of all, I consider myself a secular humanist. ....
There is, I know, something mealy-mouthed and uncommitted about my squishy spirituality. And that is part of what I was thinking about when I made the observation about organized groups of secular humanists not being present in disaster zones. As a society, we’ve lost a good deal of our sense of communitarian commitment. That’s not a novel observation, of course. It was best made by Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone, twenty years ago. But the churches–disdained and sometimes ridiculed in my part of the world, Acela world–still have it. Many of their teachings are improbably literal and sometimes close-minded to the point of ugliness; but the church groups are always out there, in droves, when a disaster happens.
There was a time when secular service organizations had a greater sway in this country and, no doubt, a greater presence when disaster struck. But that’s not true now–although, it is certainly true, as my critics point out, that secular humanists, including atheists, can be incredibly generous. I never meant to imply they weren’t. But they are not organized. The effects of this post-modern atomization is something I’ve been trying to puzzle through for most of my career. That’s why I find the military, and the community values that are at the heart of military culture, so intriguing. That’s why I find the groups featured in my cover story about public service this week so inspiring. I believe that they sustain an essential part of citizenship that the rest of us have lost track of, the importance of being an active part of something larger than yourself.
Well, there’s been a bit of a kerfuffle about my observation in this week’s cover story, that you don’t see organized groups of secular humanists giving out hot meals in disaster relief areas like Moore, Oklahoma, after the tornados. Let me explain.
First of all, I consider myself a secular humanist. ....
There is, I know, something mealy-mouthed and uncommitted about my squishy spirituality. And that is part of what I was thinking about when I made the observation about organized groups of secular humanists not being present in disaster zones. As a society, we’ve lost a good deal of our sense of communitarian commitment. That’s not a novel observation, of course. It was best made by Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone, twenty years ago. But the churches–disdained and sometimes ridiculed in my part of the world, Acela world–still have it. Many of their teachings are improbably literal and sometimes close-minded to the point of ugliness; but the church groups are always out there, in droves, when a disaster happens.
There was a time when secular service organizations had a greater sway in this country and, no doubt, a greater presence when disaster struck. But that’s not true now–although, it is certainly true, as my critics point out, that secular humanists, including atheists, can be incredibly generous. I never meant to imply they weren’t. But they are not organized. The effects of this post-modern atomization is something I’ve been trying to puzzle through for most of my career. That’s why I find the military, and the community values that are at the heart of military culture, so intriguing. That’s why I find the groups featured in my cover story about public service this week so inspiring. I believe that they sustain an essential part of citizenship that the rest of us have lost track of, the importance of being an active part of something larger than yourself.
"..........something mealy-mouthed and uncommitted about my squishy spirituality"
at Foundation Beyond Belief
CURRENT FOCUS: OKLAHOMA CITY TORNADO RELIEF EFFORTS
RECIPIENTS: Operation USA and Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
DONATIONS TO DATE: $44,100 (28 May, 12:00 PM ET)
The Humanist Crisis Response program of Foundation Beyond Belief serves as a focal point for the humanist response to major humanitarian crises. Our purpose is twofold: to bring resources to those in desperate need, and to raise awareness of that need in the humanist community and beyond.
Foundation Beyond Belief is a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation created to focus, encourage and demonstrate humanist generosity and compassion. We select and feature five charitable organizations per quarter, one in each of the following cause areas:
Education
Poverty and Health
Human Rights
The Natural World
Challenge the Gap (charities based in other worldviews)
Members join the Foundation by signing up for a monthly automatic donation in the amount of their choice, then set up personal profiles to indicate how they would like their contribution distributed among the five categories.
Active members can advocate for causes and help us choose the new beneficiaries each quarter. We also host a multi-author blog focused on humanism, philanthropy, and the intersection of the two.
Foundation Beyond Belief is a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation created to focus, encourage and demonstrate humanist generosity and compassion. We select and feature five charitable organizations per quarter, one in each of the following cause areas:
Education
Poverty and Health
Human Rights
The Natural World
Challenge the Gap (charities based in other worldviews)
Members join the Foundation by signing up for a monthly automatic donation in the amount of their choice, then set up personal profiles to indicate how they would like their contribution distributed among the five categories.
Active members can advocate for causes and help us choose the new beneficiaries each quarter. We also host a multi-author blog focused on humanism, philanthropy, and the intersection of the two.
Giving members: 1,431
Volunteers: 2,850
Humanist Giving (Q2) $46,255
Crisis: OK Tornado $45,105
LLS Giving (2013 to date) $3,210
Total since launch: $983,480
''We all thought you were a turd!''
- Now we know......
K&R
- Now we know......
K&R
