Month: November 2012

The Secular Morality of Abortion

Stephanie Zvan16 Comments

I and some of the other authors in Atheist Voices of Minnesota spoke this afternoon at a local community college about morality and atheism. There’s very little in my Atheist Voices essay about morality, and it isn’t a topic I deal with much here outside religion’s contribution to the problem of unearned authority. I wanted to talk about morality itself directly, though, so I knew I’d be speaking about something new.

The first half of my remarks were based around a story I wrote up for last week, about not having the words to help a gay classmate back in high school and how the situation has changed between then and now. I told the story and pointed out how various churches and denominations have lagged behind society on this moral issue. Secular society has led on this matter of religion, and religion is playing catch-up–or not.

That wasn’t going to be enough, however, and it’s a well-worn argument. I wanted to make my talk my own, and to do it by more than using a personal story. I was at a bit of a loss until a comment by Ophelia made something click. I knew what I’d talk about. The morality of abortion is a light subject matter for a lunch talk with students, right? Well, whether it is or not, here’s what I told them: Continue reading “The Secular Morality of Abortion” →

The Secular Morality of Abortion
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Atheists Talk: Shawn Lawrence Otto on "Top American Science Questions"

Stephanie Zvan

We’ve heard the major-party candidates for president debate on the economy, on their philosophies of government, on foreign policy. What you won’t hear in televised debates is much attention given to scientific issues. However, these issues make a difference to our lives and to our country’s future.

This is why 14 science and technology questions were presented to both campaigns. Each was given a chance to answer such questions as:

  • What policies will best ensure that America remains a world leader in innovation?
  • What is your position on cap-and-trade, carbon taxes, and other policies proposed to address global climate change—and what steps can we take to improve our ability to tackle challenges like climate change that cross national boundaries?
  • Given that the next Congress will face spending constraints, what priority would you give to investment in research in your upcoming budgets?
  • In an era of constant and rapid international travel, what steps should the United States take to protect our population from emerging diseases, global pandemics and/or deliberate biological attacks?

And many more. Their answers were published in early September.

This Sunday, Shawn Lawrence Otto, one of the founders of the organization than ensures that science questions are asked and answered, joins us to compare the candidates’ answers to these important questions. Even if you already know where your vote will be going, listen to find out what your candidate’s science priorities are.

Related Links:

Listen to AM 950 KTNF this Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio at 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to [email protected] during the live show. If you miss the live show, listen to the podcast later.

Atheists Talk: Shawn Lawrence Otto on "Top American Science Questions"

Give The Hunger Games

Stephanie Zvan1 Comment

Sometimes the materials we give children to encourage them to read are books that we think kids ought to be reading instead of the books everyone wants to read. This project has kids reading, not just fun books, but books that everyone is already talking about, giving them an extra incentive to read.

Butler High School Literacy Initiative

Butler High School in Augusta, GA

My Students: There is an extreme lack of reading in our community. Students would rather turn on the TV and watch the movie versus reading a book. During Independent Reading, we hope to ignite a fire and instill a love and appreciation for reading within our students.

This GA high school is roughly 90% Black, 7% White, and 3% other (Hispanic, Asian, etc). Most of the families here are of low-socioeconomic status and benefit from Title I. There is a plague of student apathy here but there are also motivated students as well who want to learn.

My Project: Having these resources in place will improve the 4th-8th grade reading level that many of the kids are presently on. Students are already using annotation to improve comprehension. This is especially beneficial when the time comes to do research papers from the American author books I requested.

This project is especially important to me because it frustrates me to watch the students walk around in their world, ignorant of the diversities and different cultures life holds. They are in a box-thinking mindset and willingly believe whatever Hollywood feeds them instead of opening a book and letting their imagination soar and their ideas flourish. The knowledge they will learn from reading will be far more than I can ever impart as their teacher.

My students need 25 copies of The Hunger Games, books that interest them and also better references for research purposes.

Starting today, any donation you’re able to make to one of the science bloggers’ challenges, up to $100, will be matched by the Donors Choose Foundation. They’re matching up to $50,000 from us, so this is an opportunity to have a huge impact. Just enter “SCIENCE” when you check out and help even more students.

Picture showing the "Match or gift code" field just above the buttons for choosing type of payment.

Give The Hunger Games