Tim Minchin's occasional address at his alma mater really got to me, mostly because I had, for most of my adult life, done the opposite of many of his suggestions. I could write at length about it - and perhaps at some future point I will - but the one thing Minchin said that got me thinking about my life - and my life as a blogger - was this: "Define yourself by what you love."
I've wrestled with this notion as I've tried to come to terms with the atheist subculture, as well as the direction I want to take my blog. I never wanted Dead-Logic to be an "atheist blog" because, well, it's just not. It's a personal blog. Dead-Logic is about my journey through life: where I've been, what I've been through, and where I'm headed. But beyond that, I never wanted my blog to be defined by a negative. I don't mean "negative" as in "bad," but as in "not X." I don't want to define myself by what I am not.
Okay. Before I go further, let me clarify: I'm not opposed to any particular label, even negative labels like "atheist" which describe what someone is not. I understand such labels are oftentimes necessary; further, I know that such labels - "atheist" in particular - arose from the exclusivist mindset of religious practitioners. My struggle with the label is that it's not enough. We try to act like the label is sufficient - enough to define us and unite us - but it never will be. This is why people leave goofy comments on my blog whenever I talk about how labels like "atheist" and "agnostic" are defined.
As Minchin said, we "have a tendency to define ourselves in opposition to stuff." Sometimes we must. Racism is wrong. Sexism and homophobia are wrong. I proudly define myself by what I am not in certain contexts. I am not racist. I am not sexist. And if any part of my thinking betrays those convictions, I long for the self-awareness and strength to correct that part of my thinking. But these negative descriptions are based on something more. I am not homophobic, not for the sake of being "anti" something, but because I am pro-equality and human rights. My negative labels are subcategories of the larger positive label.
This is why, as a thinker, I have always preferred the labels "freethinker" and "skeptic." They don't say what I'm not, but what I am, and what I do. Such labels relate to the virtues I extol more explicitly than any negative label I could use.
Of course, the problem is such labels aren't shiny and new. And people want shiny and new.
Even before I heard Tim Minchin's speech, I was already applying the axiom, "define yourself by what you love." I created the Carl Sagan Google Doodle Campaign to make my own small contribution to science advocacy. I started a new blog, Life Garage, focusing on mental and physical health and wellness. I started Life Garage not to replace Dead-Logic, but to be a new outlet for a new passion in my life - defining myself by what I love. I still want Dead-Logic to remain as it's been, but focus even more on the positive definitions. So far, I haven't figured out a clever or clean way to do that.
In short, I'd rather spend my energies taking a stand for something rather than taking a stand against something. Too many people think atheists "believe in nothing" partly because atheists have been less than clear about what they actually stand for (and partly because a lot of people only hear what they want to hear, even when atheists are being clear about their principles). Every attempt to apply a fancy new positive label to atheist culture (the Brights, Atheism Plus) has been a dismal, expired milk odored failure. In spite of many earnest efforts of many genuinely good people, there's still way too much mud in the water.
But I might be the wrong person to address this topic. I don't really feel like I'm part of the culture anymore. Maybe I'll write about that later on as well. Maybe. :-)
Define Yourself By What You Love
Define Yourself By What You Love
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