Thirteen things we should tell our children about life, gods, and our origins

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. The Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, not only 6 000 years.

2. Life on Earth started, began developing and evoluating nearly 4 billion years ago.

3. We as humans are most probably the descendants of the first cellular organisms who lived in a primal soup in the early aeons of the Earth’s existence. We are part of a common tree of life, not special creations by a god who allegedly determined that we should rule over all other species.

4. Our nearest relations in other species are the primates and specifically the chimpanzee and bonobo with whom we shared a common ancestor probably 7 million years ago.

5. Always ask for the evidence when people are making claims, whether it’s about a medicine that can heal your illness, an instrument that its seller or manufacturer claims can change your life, or a god or intelligent designer who says he/she will protect you, and will look after you by giving you everlasting life if you live an exemplary life and believe in him or her.

6. Nobody can beat death, it’s an inevitable part of being alive that we will all die one day. Enjoy this one life you have as there is no evidence of a life after this one.

7. There is not a shred of evidence of heaven and hell. Being good won’t get you in heaven, and being bad won’t send you to hell’s fire.

8. There is no shred of evidence that you have an everlasting soul, that you can speak to the dead, or come back from the dead.

9. There is no shred of evidence that any god created the heavens and earth and all life. God is a figment of humans’ imagination, created in humankind’s image by wishful thinkers.

10. The most reliable way of understanding and interpreting how the world and the cosmos work, is the scientific method, the systematic search for knowledge about the world and organizing and condensing that knowledge into testable laws and theories based on evidence (as E.O. Wilson partially puts it in Consilience).

11. Don’t believe any claims and promises made because you think it is based on authority, not the priest’s, rabbi’s, immam’s, not the teacher’s, not your parents’, not your friend’s, not the sports coach’s, not anyone’s. Always ask for the evidence.

12. Don’t believe any claims and promises made because you think it is based on tradition, not the school’s, not the priest’s or imam’s or rabbi’s, not the church’s or the mosque’s or the temple’s or the sinagogue’s, not the teacher’s, not your parents’, not your friend’s, not the sports coach’s, not anyone’s. Always ask for the evidence.

13. Don’t believe any claims and promises made because you think it is based on revelation, not by a fortune teller, holy persons alleging their claim has been revealed to them by a god or prophet, not the priest’s or imam’s or rabbi’s, not the teacher’s, not your parents’, not your friend’s, not the sports coach’s, not anyone’s. Always ask for the evidence.

http://prometheusongebonde.wordpress.com/2008/12/03/thirteen-things-we-should-tell-our-children-about-life-gods-and-our-origins/

[msongs]

1. Please read the Book of Msongs. I found it in the backyard this morning...

written on metal plates. although it is in a language/code I do not understand, I translated it from the original into English in 10 minutes. It is the only truth and all other claims are false. Thank you.

Msongs

[Greyhound]

11. Not golden? n/t

[Tuvok Obama]

48. I put it there

and you totally misinterpreted My divine message.

I said to devour the Bread of Life, not deflower it; to consume it, not consummate it.

It's my fault, I suppose. I could have just written it in English in the first place.

[Orrex]

88. I'm waiting for the movie

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. And if you ask for evidence,

be sure to investigate the sources given. Science isn't infallible, and just because a study is called "scientific" doesn't make it so. How many subjects were in the study? Were double blind studies done? Have other studies confirmed the hypothesis?

I say this because lately there have been headlines about "scientific discoveries" that are very misleading. The Korean scientist who claimed to have cloned a dog is an example--the MSM proclaimed his work as revolutionary before it was reviewed and found to be faked. Just lately there has been a study done on Vitamin E that has the MSM saying that Vitamin E is poisonous---but what they don't tell you is that the study was done on only one form of Vitamin E, a form that IS NOT beneficial to humans.

Also beware when governments will not allow scientific research done on certain naturally occurring plant life--ie hemp. Why won't the government allow scientists to do studies on hemp and cannabis? Could it be they fear that the claims of industrial and medical benefits will be shown to be true?

[msongs]

7. want to bet the cotton/wool/polyester lobby is behind the hemp ban? nt

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

16. Dow Chemical and nylon is considered

the reason it was outlawed in the 1930s.

[mitchtv]

23. Also: "A friend with weed; is a friend indeed"

[eridani]

35. "Dope will get you through times of no money

--better than money will get you through times of no dope."
--Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers

[PADemD]

31. Especially, who funded the study.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

32. VERY true

I agree totally. Many folks worship "science" and think if a study is labeled "scientific" it must be true. They either don't realize or forget that funding for research can color the type of research done and, on occasion, even pre-determine the outcome. Best to read the study carefully rather than rely on MSM headlines to tell you everything.

[roguevalley]

44. True. Science isn't infallible. Remember phen-fen? I could list

more. I agree with you, ayeshahaqqiqa

[northernsoul]

83. Agreed, be familiar with appropriate scientific methodology

it's a lot easier to call something science (including the viciously irrational dogmas of the "Christian Science" sect) than it is to actually follow the scientific method.

[ZombieHorde]

3. 14. All of the best cartoons are on at night.

(note about life)

[Cleita]

4. Now if you can get any priest or pastor to read those points from

the pulpit on Sunday, you've got it made.

[frebrd]

5. K&R! n/t

[panader0]

6. Thirteen? Thirteen is a very unlucky number!

(kidding)

[zorahopkins]

8. 15. Follo* Your O*n Inner Voice

Number 14 (The Best Cartoons are on at night) is good.

But here is Number 15: Follo* YOUR o*n voice. Do *hat YOU feel is best. Don't let anyone tell you *hat to do. Just do *hatever YOU feel is right.

Note: In protest of the continuing occupation of OUR *hite House by the illegal and totally corrupt Bush/Cheney regime of thugs and cronies, I REFUSE to use the letter bet*een "V" and "X", and I urge you to do the same.

[OwnedByFerrets]

17. I love it!!! What a great idea, even though I doubt I could keep it going.

[Botany]

9. 14) go to Boston and order the Clam Chowder at the Union Oyster House

[metapunditedgy]

10. Drive up the coast, enjoy the scenery, and get seafood/chowder in one of

the towns along the way...

[Botany]

14. Go to Maine for the Lobster Rolls .... Reds

The Union Oyster House's Chaww derrrr is awesome w/ their corn bread!

[Patiod]

57. OMG - that's cruel

It made my mouth start to water.

My first lobster roll ever was from Reds about 2 months ago. I had never liked lobster until then but ate lobster for my week in Maine, and probably won't have it again until I return.

Mmmmm.....Red's. (Also dreaming of the Dip Net in Port Clyde).

[Greyhound]

12. I've always loved Legal Seafood's clam chowda', is their's better? n/t

[Botany]

15. Freaking 1 stick of butter in it

Heavy Cream .... fresh oysters ..... nice potatoes

whatya' think?

BTW Their fried oyster are killer too.

[surrealAmerican]

63. This is totally unfair.

You must realize that some of us are stuck in the midwest, where lobster rolls don't exist, and the chowder is from a can. Now I'm stuck with a craving I will never satisfy.

[Botany]

69. party on

Boston's Union Oyster House's Clam Chowder
Ingredients :

10 cup clam juice
2 lb baking potatoes, like russets peeled, diced
4 lb fresh or frozen clams shelled, diced
1/4 lb salt pork diced
2 sm onions diced
1 cup butter
1 cup flour
2 pt half-and-half
Salt to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1 dsh hot pepper sauce
1 dsh Worcestershire sauce

Method :
Bring the potatoes and the clam juice to the boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the clams and any of their liquid. Cook about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Add the pork to a saute pan and cook over low heat until rendered. Add the onions and cook until transparent. Add the butter and allow it to melt. Add the flour and cook until slightly colored. Add a bit more flour if necessary if the mixture is too soft.
Bring the clams, juice and potatoes back to the boil. Gradually stir in the cooked roux. Bring to a rolling boil to thicken. Stir continuously while cooking.
Beat the half-and-half and add to the soup. It may not be necessary to use all the half-and-half; the soup should be thick. Adjust the seasoning and add a dash of hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce before serving.
This recipe yields 10 servings.

[Marrah_G]

87. Legal Seafood ships!

[JeffreyWilliamson]

13. Revised Number 4...

4. Human beings are primates and are one of several species of the biological family Hominidae, also known as the Great Apes. We are most closely related to the chimpanzee and bonobo with whom we share a common ancestor probably 7 million years ago.

[PassingFair]

18. An atheist's affirmation...

We are the product of millions of years of evolution.

That process has not been pretty.

Billions of creatures have tried to pass along their
genes and have failed.

But YOUR ancestors did not fail.

You come from a long line of creatures that survived
enormous odds to create you.

You are descended form a long line of winners.

So, it seems to me, that you, too, must be a winner.



(I don't know who wrote this originally, but I wrote
it down and am now reposting it!)

[surrealAmerican]

65. Also, remember there are no "end products" of evolution .

All creatures are "steps along the way". The species that died out were not "worse", they were merely less able to survive the conditions that existed at that time. Other hominids did not exist in order to "evolve into humans". Humans will die out eventually too.

[blondeatlast]

19. If it makes you happy, enjoy it. Just don't be obnoxious about it.

That goes for believers and non-believers alike.

[ZombieHorde]

21. What is so wrong about being obnoxious?

[Kajsa]

26. What's right about it?

n/t

[ZombieHorde]

28. I don't know if being obnoxious is right, and I am not advocating it.

blondeatlast is advocating for people to refrain from obnoxious behavior.

Unrelated picture which I found to be humorous.

[Kajsa]

62. LOL!

That is a great picture!
:D

It reminds me of the able bodied gym members
who try to get the closest parking space to the gym so they
don't have to walk an extra 50 yards!

Thanks for sharing this.

:)

[blondeatlast]

34. If it makes you happy, enjoy it. Just don't be obnoxious about it.

;)

[ZombieHorde]

40. Hehe!

[CoffeeCat]

54. If we're obnoxious...

...it's because our bonobo ancestors were obnoxious.

We can't help it.

It's in our genes.

[TexasObserver]

20. Yes, indeed. Religion is the enemy of clear thinking.

The absurdities otherwise normal people believe because someone told them when they were a child is appalling. The most disgusting are the ones that try to baptize new born babies, under the rationale their little souls are doomed otherwise. That's just a church's way of tagging and bagging little ones before they're old enough to reject the mythologies spun by the world's largest and longest running crime organizations.

[Tinksrival]

22. Makes perfect sense.

I really think some people have the faith gene and some don't. I don't.
Come to think of it.....some people have an over load of the religion genes.

Can you imagine what human kind would be like without religion?

[rug]

24. What would you tell them about faith?

[babydollhead]

25. Everything changes.

When you meet someone, see how you can help them. If you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

[ZombieHorde]

29. and if you must hurt them, at least do it in a funny way.

[FarCenter]

27. The purpose of life...

is to keep your gonads off the ground long enough for your genes to reproduce.

[rosesaylavee]

30. 15. And Chicago makes the best pizza.

[PurityOfEssence]

33. 7 and 9 screw it up

When so much of this is well reasoned, why screw it up with the same unsubstantiated certainty in response? There is no proof that God is a figment of humankind's image by wishful thinkers. (I certainly agree that this is almost DEFINITELY the reality, BUT THERE IS NO PROOF OF THIS EITHER.) This makes the message as guilty as the unfounded religious certainty.

Likewise, there's no proof that there ISN'T a heaven or hell, nor is there no proof that there's no cosmic justice to be meted out by the big daddything. Saying so is just as flippant as starry-eyed belief.

Sure, I agree wholeheartedly with the contentions, but THERE IS NO PROOF that there is no big grownup sky chief to make it all good for us, and flatly saying that there isn't is falling into the same trap as belief. Indeed, it IS a belief.

It's irritating when people get it largely right and then leave a soft underbelly for the opposition to exploit.

There's no proof. There's overwhelming circumstantial evidence that the claims of immortality, soul, divine justice and all that are tools of political control and the yearnings of fearful critters, but there's no proof, and the unwillingness to live with that is just tiresome.

Just a thought from an agnostic...

One of the enduring obstacles to non-religiousness being accepted is the virulent hatred brought to bear on heathens because of the arrogance of many non-religious types. Screeds like this just tend to fuel the fire when they can't stick with their essential premise and accept a lack of proof.

[anigbrowl]

46. You don't need evidence in favor of a negative proposition

If and when some evidence of divine activity shows up, I'll change me mind.

[Lerkfish]

52. lack of evidence does not mean the conclusion is foregone

unless you're an atheist, and then you're allowed to make absolute decisions based on no evidence and fell smug and superior while denigrating others. Ayn Rand has made a generation of completely insufferable assholes.

[dmallind]

70. Ermmm... no

I have been active in organized atheism for many years, meeting hundreds of atheists. I have met perhaps 4 who have made an absolute decision at all on the subject (strong atheists). The rest of us just have decided that every suggestion about gods we have heard is unsubstantiated and suspiciously syncretic, and so not worth believing until either proved or cogently argued.

I no more claim that there is no god of any kind anywhere in the universe than I claim there is no race of blue 18' tall tripedal sentient beings who communicate only in iambic pentameter sung in falsetto anywhere in the universe. I just think both ideas have the same amount of evidence, and that the latter is far more likely to be true as none of those characteristics would violate any natural laws as we now understand them.

And precious few of these atheists have anything kind to say about Ayn Rand. You'll find fewer groups of people gathered for an apolitical reason more consistently progressive than atheists. I know more libertarian gays than atheists, and far more Republican gays than atheists. Atheist meetings are the only venue outside DU where I have ever been accused of being a right winger.

[laconicsax]

76. Don't bother.

Agnostics KNOW that the only possible answer is no answer and anyone who comes to a reasoned conclusion is just as deluded as someone who believes things on faith alone.

Haven't you heard? All atheists are smug libertarian men who get major wood whenever Ayn Rand is mentioned and atheists ranting online are just as bad as fundamentalist Christians in our government.

[northernsoul]

84. The burden of proof is on the affirmative

n/t

[bertman]

36. I'm not a believer in the afterlife, but here's an experience relating to #8. Maybe someone

has had a similar thing happen to them.

At age 16 I was working in Vermont for the summer. One morning I awoke and remembered a dream I had during the night. My paternal grandmother had appeared in the dream, sitting in her rocking chair in her home in North Carolina in front of the coal fire warming her arthritis-racked body, where she almost always was when I visited her. I remembered that she motioned to me and said "Come here, Bert." So, I had walked over to her as she had asked. The dream didn't seem strange or bother me in the least and I went off to work as on any other day.

A few hours later someone came to tell me that I had a call at the main office (there were no cell phones and very few multiple phone lines in those days). When I arrived in the office one of the workers said to me that I had a long-distance call. And I responded by saying, "I know. My grandmother died last night." When I picked up the phone, my father tearfully told me how his mom had died last night.

Someone please explain to me how these things can happen. There was nothing spooky or weird-feeling about it. It was as if it were the most natural thing in the world for my grandmother to appear to me in a dream to say goodbye. And I was very happy that she did.

By the way, I did not know that she was dying and had heard nothing from home about her being ill.

So, needless to say, I believe that there are ways that we communicate or experience others that are not "normal".

[BeFree]

37. Ha!

There is no proof you had a dream. Where is the evidence?

Actually, I believe you. And that Granma appeared to you. Just had to write the above to make a point.

What are we but electrical impulses that allow grouping of atoms/molecules to be organized into a useful productive physical thing that does stuff? And what is it that organizes this dirt that we are? What is it that joins together are varied parts? Some call it God.

It is evident, we have proof that we are and that is. The question is How? There are some folks just beginning to answer the how.

What if.... somewhere out there.... a guy sat at a computer and answered the how and then started making stuff come alive... and here we are.

[BrklynLiberal]

39. I believe that when someone loves you as your Grandmother did

they find a way to communicate.

[roguevalley]

45. Those are common dreams and they tell me a lot about what comes

next. We are energy and so in consciousness. Consciousness survives because of it or we are the outlier to the theory of conservation of energy. My dad had a thing like that happen to him. He was raking the yard and my uncle, who had died four years ealier had appeared and told him he was all right and that he loved my dad.

Death dreams and such are common in my family. My mom had visitations just before she died and I had premonitions. If there is nothing beyond this, then my premonitions -which came unbidden- would seem superfluous. My mother's death shortly after was EXTREMELY out of left field. We carry on. That I believe.

[deutsey]

51. I had a kind of similar experience, although it didn't involve death

I was living away from home for the summer, working at the beach. I'd call my mom once a week and check in with her, but didn't see her otherwise. One morning I woke up and the first thing I thought with absolute certainty was that my mom was coming to visit me. We had said nothing about a visit during our last call, so I shrugged it off and stayed in bed. Not 15 minutes later my mom was knocking on my door for a surprise visit.

That was so weird for me, the absolute certainty that I knew she was coming to visit but I had no reason to think it.

There's a lot more to our interconnectedness with each other and the universe than we can understand...that's one reason why I don't accept the underlying philosophy of the 13 things in the OP.

[Iggo]

38. Hey! Whaddaya got against sports coaches?!?!

:rofl:

[QueenOfCalifornia]

41. evoluating?

It is "evolving" the word evoluating is something that evolved from the inner space of a less evolved creature.

2. Life on Earth started, began developing and evoluating nearly 4 billion years ago. :eyes:

As an atheist, I had to give this a K&R though. :D

[astral]

42. Don't indoctrinate your children into believing that everything

in the universe is only real on the physical plane and is all one big happy accident. We just don't know yet. What is wrong with telling children that we as adults just don't know it all? Give them a sense of WONDER and EXPLORATION.

[laconicsax]

77. ...

:eyes:

Because you can't have any sense of wonder or exploration if you accept the physical universe as all there is...

[northernsoul]

86. ...or that we can actually learn things about this universe that are true

through thoughtful inquiry.
Nope, much more fun to buy whatever magic beans some guy is selling because he tells you that they're magic.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

43. #8. I have spoken and received a message from a dead loved one that I have on tape (EVP).

Also, there are many reported cases of reincarnation, where there is no other explanation for the knowledge that the person has about a an unknown deceased person's life.

I have also had precognitive dreams.

[roguevalley]

47. you and me both, OmmmSweetOmmm. I just feel loathe to tell

about it because you usually get kicked in the teeth by the 'rationalists'. lol!

I get dreams and messages from my parents all the time because I listen for them. I knew they would try and we agreed in our lives that we would. My great aunt had 'the touch' and we have -on my mom's side- all kinds of quirks that let us smell perfume from my granny, see things that have meaning to us from our agreements, etc.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

68. The "sensitivity" runs through my Mom as well. My sister, my brother

and myself have all had "experiences". My most important "gift" is my bullshit/danger meter.

And yes, I was hesitating about posting about it because I didn't want to confront ridicule last night. I know what I know. Period.

I did mention the EVP because beyond any doubt whatsoever, it is tangible evidence that there is more in heaven and on earth that meets the eye.

BTW... I am by no means religious in any sense of the word. I do believe that someday, there will be conclusive Scientific proof that the conscience survives the physical body's death.

[moobu2]

75. There are people who’ll pay mega bucks for that kind of proof

(such as a tape recording of a dead person)cause there just isn’t any. You'd be the first. Then again those things are easily faked. Matter of fact if you have any proof whatsoever concerning reincarnation and your ability to foretell the future, they'll pay you a LOT of money for it.


Go here and claim your money...... a one-million-dollar prize to anyone who can show, under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event.

[Lerkfish]

49. well, its probably what we should tell out atheist children, if we want to indoctrinate them

Nice to see atheists want to proseltyze children just as much as religious people do.


How about, instead, a full round of information, that includes your list AND every other religious belief and let the kid come to their own conclusion?

I always have to laugh at you guys: you're just as fascist about your own conclusions as you claim everyone else is.

[muriel_volestrangler]

53. 'Fascist'? 'Indoctrinate'? That's ridiculous

The list repeatedly says "find out for yourself". What kind of 'indoctrination' is that?

There's only one 'belief' in there - that there aren't any gods. The rest of it (that there's no evidence for gods, afterlife etc.) You devalue the word 'fascist' if you think that pointing out there's no evidence for something, and then saying that thing doesn't exist, is 'fascist'.

The thing about religious belief is, it isn't 'information'. Information is things like "there is no evidence of life after death'. Religious beliefs are suppositions.

[Goblinmonger]

79. Fascist Individualism

It's all the rage.

[tekisui]

60. There is not a thing fascist in that.

Fascism: a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.

You are over-reaching. If anything it is more towards over-confidence, or dismissal of personal beliefs. But certainly not Fascist.

Children should be taught that they can chose their path, and that there is no proof of god or afterlife or soul. But, they are free to invent whatever story the want, knowing it is "belief in a story" that may help them at times. Doesn't mean it is true of real, though. Like a lucky penny.

[Lerkfish]

74. valid point: fascist was the wrong word, and really not what I was trying to say

sorry about that. I think I meant something more like rigid or dogmatic.

oh well.

[Dreamer Tatum]

61. Consider the following

Catholic-ISM

Protestant-ISM

Hindu-ISM

Juda-ISM

ATHE-ISM.


ism (zm)
n. Informal
A distinctive doctrine, system, or theory.

[muriel_volestrangler]

73. But since it's not the separate word 'ism', you've looked up the wrong thing

This is what you needed:

"-ism suffix, forming nouns, denoting 1 a formal set of beliefs, ideas, principles, etc • feminism. 2 a quality or state • heroism. 3 an activity or practice or its result • criticism. 4 discrimination or prejudice on the grounds of some specified quality • ageism. 5 an illness caused by, causing resemblance to or named after something or someone specified • alcoholism • dwarfism. 6 a characteristic of a specified language or variety of language • regionalism • Americanism. "

Note there are multiple meanings for the suffix. It can be as simple as 'a quality or state'.

[Goblinmonger]

80. FAIL

It's the ISM in The-ism i.e. doctrine about god.

Then you add the A-theism meaning lack of doctrine about god.

Keep playing, though; It's fun to watch.

[ZombieHorde]

81. My daughter asked me if there were monsters, she asked in a literal sense of the word,

'monster'. I told her that monsters are not real. Is that proselytizing?

[sohndrsmith]

50. When you say "children" what age child are you referring to? nt

[Stop Cornyn]

55. # x+1. Historically, many human cultures have felt a desire to embrace personified deities to

explain how we were created (e.g., the Egyptian have Isis and Horus -- grandson of Ra; the Greek have Zeus -- great grandson of Chaos; the Norse have Odin -- grandson of Buri; the Hindu have Prajapati, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva; the other examples are countless).

[all.of.me]

56. I like 1-4, but I do speak with the dead, or rather they show themselves to me, and

I do believe in an afterlife and karma.

[Patiod]

58. I strongly disagree about #7

Have to go with the Jews and Quakers on that one - that heaven and hell are absolutes, and they are HERE on earth right this minute, and you and I are their agents. I'm pretty sure that some of the higher-up Catholic theologians have agreed on this one as well: No harps, no fluffy clouds, no pitchfords - just human suffering and human joy, and we have it in our power to influence both.

Whatever good we do we have to do now, and what evil we do can indeed make (this) life hell for ourselves and others.

I always liked the name of a NY nonprofit that made sure AIDS patients had nutritious, palatable meals: "God's Love We Deliver". WE are the ones tasked with feeding the poor, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and just generally working for social justice.

(I understand the OP's point - that there's no afterlife - but I would add that heaven and hell are right here, right now, and that we have a responsibility to our fellow humans to make our mark for the better HERE and NOW).

[Marrah_G]

59. I find this sort of preaching just as bad as the evangelical preaching

:puke:

[ZombieHorde]

82. Isn't your post preaching about preaching?

[northernsoul]

85. How is it preaching?

It sounds to me like a pretty good summation of demonstrable fact and an exhortation to critical thinking. Pretty much the complete opposite of the unsupported assertions and metaphysical extortion that characterizes evangelical haranguing.

[SidDithers]

64. Most excellent list...

thanks for posting. Gonna print out a couple of copies and give to my kids. This'll make for a good familiy discussion around the dinner table tonight.

Cheers.

Sid

[lyonn]

66. Teach the children to think, nice thinking

But, after listening to Obama today on MTP I found myself "believing"?! I've got to watch this gut reaction I get when listening to him. He is sure to do things I will feel strong reservations about, but, at the moment, I feel such goofy hope that many or most of his decisions will not be a disaster.

Edit: "ask for the evidence", good idea too, info is all over the internet now days. Curiosity can be fun.

[Road Scholar]

67. K&R nt.

[Warpy]

71. Well, I don't have kids but I tell my friends' kids one thing

Nobody owns the whole truth.

That means that whatever they think is the truth is either not going to be true after all or will be only a partial truth.

It also helps them avoid being suckers for charismatic frauds leading cults.

[Ediacara]

72. Evoluating? What?

[raccoon]

78. Wish it wasn't too late to rec this. nt