Ron Paul 2012 (spread this video around)

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If you want Ron Paul to win the Republican nomination, it's important to get the word out. Spread this video (and ones like it) around. I strongly believe he has a good chance at winning the nomination. Donating to his campaign is also suggested ($$ wins elections).

As a side note, I've come across many more atheists that support Ron Paul than do Obama. Anyways, feel free to give your thoughts about the election below in the comment section. Debate is also welcome :)

http://www.ronpaul.com/

Red State Update Meets Westboro Baptist Church

As an atheist, I love the Westboro Baptist Church, and I don't think it's hard to figure out why. They are to Christians what TheAmazingAtheist is to atheists.

Changing thinking habits (causes of anxiety, depression, stress, anger)

For problems like anxiety and depression, many people are unable to understand why they feel the way they do. Chances are, if you are experiencing depression or anxiety, it is caused by the way you think. I know that perhaps this seems obvious. But I believe many people are unaware of just how much their thought-process affects their well-being. Many people with problems like depression and anxiety rush to take medications to fix "chemical imbalances" without wondering why such an imbalance is occurring in the first place. For example, try the following (warning: it will make you feel bad)...

-Think of the worst memory you can think of..
-Imagine it again, but try to fill in even more detail.
-Exaggerate it, perhaps add something that makes it even worse!

How do you feel? Probably pretty bad. That feeling is caused by "chemicals". If you engage in enough stress-inducing thinking, there will be side-effects (e.g. mood swings, depression, anxiety, brain-fog, poor focusing ability and memory). Think of the chemicals that get released during stressful thinking as being like a drug (thoughts do alter the way the brain and/or body functions); and like a drug, there are side effects to negative (i.e. stressful) thinking. For many anxious or depressed individuals, negative thinking is so habitual that it goes unnoticed--it is the default the mode.

We are so good at thinking that we can process large amounts of information without even realizing it. When confronted with a stressful situation--like being face-to-face with a bear--we don't need to spend a long time trying to remember what we know about this creature (even though the information we have gathered about bears is why a fight-or-flight response would typically occur). We have "feelings" about everything in the world because of labels and associative emotion-producing memories. A person can get over a fear of bears by consciously thinking about bears differently.

Think as optimistically as possible (while still maintaining rationality). Even if in your heart you don't believe the optimistic thoughts, keep thinking that way and eventually your mind will accept them as truths. Ask yourself: I enjoy life, but why? Do this sincerely, and your brain will try to figure it out--which is much better than alternative.

What I am referring to is positive self-talk and positive affirmations (which are both very similar). Try to look for reasons for why you love yourself and look for positives in the world. Oftentimes, when a person feels depressed, their brains use this train of thought: "okay, I'm depressed, why?" or "I'm angry, why?". The brain will then search for reasons to explain the emotional state. When something makes us feel bad, we try to understand why--with anxiety and depression--the explanations often only add fuel to the fire.

I'm hoping to be able to make a section on this blog for positive affirmations an tips for optimistic thinking. If you have any questions let me know.

Disclaimer - All of these ideas are just ideas, they aren't intended to replace professional help. If you are dealing with a serious mental issue, go see a doctor. Either way I assume no liability or responsibility.   

Moral Accountability (atheism vs. religion)

Moral accountability has been lost--at least in my opinion--as religious institutions in the United States continue to lose influence. People have lost interest in behaving morally, and now seem to act more within the law as oppose to acting within a moral-framework. We have all seen that "well, it's not illegal" rational be used to "justify" immoral behaviors (e.g. cheating, abortion, lying, stealing). Religions like Christianity (unlike atheism) provide a moral structure for people (or at least attempts to). Many people unfortunately lost their sense of moral duty when they lost religion. Obviously religion is not the only source of morality, and in fact I don't think it is the best. That said, I believe the masses need to be guided in the right direction when it comes to thinking morally--they need a reason to be moral.

With the issue of abortion, it is clear that pro-life is the moral position. It takes an immoral and psychopathic (I know, redundant) worldview to end an already existing and developing HUMAN life for the sake of convenience (typically financial). Many believe that killing human life becomes more morally justified the younger it is. It seems the morally-deficit need a reminder that morality is not about the flourishing of bank accounts or lack of accountability, but is about engaging in behaviors that promotes the flourishing of human life. There is a big difference between preventing life from coming into existence (contraceptive) and destroying an already existing human life. It's like if we have some lead and gun powder on a table with a casing (all separated into three parts), and claim that such a thing is same as a bullet being shot out of a gun (let that that resonate for a bit). The fact that the majority of atheists are pro-choice is reflective of a lack of moral-intelligence. For those that wanted to have sex with people they didn't want to have offspring with, tough luck--actions have consequences--and murder is not justified because of some inconvenience. Putting a baby up for adoption is way better than killing it (even though the giving away of your own offspring isn't moral either, it's the lesser of the two evils by far). In other words, if you accidentally got/get pregnant, and don't want to have a baby, wait the 9 or so months, and put it up for adoption--it's the least you could do for your son/daughter.

Obviously not all atheists are pro-choice and not all believers are pro-life. The problem is not with atheism or religion, but with lack of moral accountability. Religion (at least at the moment) has an advantage over atheism in that it has moral accountability already built in (God). Another problem I see is that religion provides morality, but gives no real reason for why people should behave morally (God is not a "real reason" for a nonbeliever). Our society's moral well-being has become reliant on religion, and without it we (as a whole) don't know what to do with ourselves. 

Rick Perry: Economic Crisis Is God's Way Of Bringing Us Back To Biblical...

Hopefully this guy doesn't become president, Jesus (pun intended). He is like Super Bush! Didn't we get our share with a fundamentalist Christian over the last decade? We don't need this nut-job having the ability to launch nukes.

Atheists that mock God are "double-damned"

If this is true, then I should be worried. This video is a satire, and Edward Current is an atheist pretending to be a Christian (obviously). But, many Christians actually believe that those that commit blasphemy are pissing off God. Why does God have such a low self-esteem that he can't take criticism? If God is all-powerful, why would He have made atheists? Is God a sadomasochist? Probably. That or atheists are right, and there is no God (sorry Christians). 

Children's Book 'Maggie Goes on a Diet' is disgusting.

I recently watched a video (click me for link) that discribes a book written by Paul Kramer. Basically it's about this young girl (14 if I remember right) that is bullied at school because she is "fat". She is unpopular, and feels depressed--which causes her to eat more food. Maggie ends up becoming motivated to lose weight, and after she loses the weight she becomes popular...and everyone loves her.

Do I even need to explain why this book is just awful? Oh, and before I go any further, Paul Kramer is not exactly slim or even a "little over weight" (to put it nicely). All this book does is perpetuate children's obsession with looks and popularity--neither of which are conductive of good mental health. It's sad to think that many many children will be influenced by this piece of garbage. Paul Kramer should be ashamed of himself. All this book will do is make overweight children even more depressed about their situation. He claims that his book will empower overweight children because they will see that "they are no alone" (which is complete BS). A person's weight is a personal issue--it surely isn't a concern for others (except for maybe a doctor or parent). Weight should only be considered a health issue, it never should be considered a social issue. The bullying nature of this book and of literal bullies is a very harmful force. The logical method is to utilize productive encouragement, not attacking the self-esteem of a child.

Sadly to say, this world is not a good environment to be raising children. I'm hoping that people start to wake up, but as they say: it will get worse before it gets better.