Are you a "Bright"? Help me explore this website, won't you.

[chaska]

http://www.the-brights.net/

I was searching Google video last night to see if I could find any Bertrand Russell (no, I couldn't), and this interview with a Tuft's University Prof came up. The concept of "Brights" was mentioned early on, but then bogged down into some heavy (heavy ... HEAVY, heavy) philosophy on the nature of whether there is a god (basically).

Anyway, a Bright is a person who holds a naturalistic view of the world and doesn't believe in supernatural beings. As an organization, to the extent it is one, it's political in the sense - or so I gather - that it seeks to make itself a recognized and acknowledged group in society ... in effect an interest group (maybe?). Sounds interesting so far.

I just got around to searching for info on the subject and thought ya'll would be wantin' to know about.

[rug]

1. No, thank you. I prefer The Wiggles.

[Debi]

2. The Wiggles F'ing ROCK

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

15. I'm seeing Dorothy the Dinosuar live next week in NC!

[Debi]

16. YES!!!

[chaska]

3. OMG, did I go and post this in the lounge????

Whatever was I thinking?

Silly me...

[asthmaticeog]

4. I find the term presumptuous and insulting.

And I'm one of the folks the term intends to describe. In fact, rather a LOT of the people it was intended to describe find it an awful term. Look for some back issues of Free Inquiry to find pages upon pages of letters skewering that smug prick Richard Dawkins for his promulgation of that term in that fine publication's pages.

http://www.csicop.org/doubtandabout/brights/

[chaska]

6. Thanks for the article...

The guy makes some excellent points, and I must admit that when I heard the term I thought it meant intelligent people. Yeah, that's a problem alright.

That said, the concept is a great idea. It's time we renamed ourselves (and strategically reframed ourselves as suggested in the article). We shouldn't be defined as lacking something, as with the term Atheist (which is such a loaded term that it hangs like the proverbial albatross). I actually like the term bright apart from the obvious confusion, and subsequent consternation (or worse), it would cause. It is, at least, a positive term.

And it is time to stand up and be counted. It's ridiculous that in this day and age an Atheist (there's that awful word again) can't even run for office in some states.

But yeah, the guys need lessons in marketing or something.

[asthmaticeog]

9. Agreed, it's the term that offends, not the intention.

But that being said, it's rigoddamndiculous that some of the smartest people alive in the world today failed to see the incredible stupidity of the name they chose. I'd call it hubris - what else can bite achievers on the ass so predictably?

For my part, I'd suggest "Übermenschen." ;)

[chaska]

11. Yeah, it's pretty hard to overcome that, BUT....

I do think they do a pretty good job of addressing the problem on their backtalk page.

Couple of examples:

The term 'bright' is associated with the term 'enlightenment'. Reason. Makes sense.

And they also say that basically names come to mean new things as we use them in different contexts. Like the term 'gay'. Used to mean one thing now means another. Or the term 'green'. I've observed this with band names a lot. Some great bands have really dumb names and many times we never even notice or quickly forget what the name actually means, it so quickly comes to mean that particular band.

Still this is a weak point, no doubt about it.

I haven't yet seen a reason I wouldn't join with them though. To me the name is a minor annoyance, little else. Besides, I think we on the left (and do we really believe there are going to be a lot of righties in this group?) worry too much lately about who we piss off.

[chaska]

5. Okay, I admit it, it was my intention all along....

to troll for brights in these shallow waters (did he just insult us? What?!?! ...I'm just playin', ya'll). Besides, I know potential Bright folk abound in the lounge. I'm here, ain't I? We got to have some guilt by association action happenin' here. Am I 'rong?

I know that e'en now, with God in Heaven and Earth below, there are a plenty score and ten of ye reading to see if ye are Brights. And scant few amongst my hale and hearty breathren and sisthren (quoth Sylvester the cat) are failing to meet the standard.

So take a moment to bookmark for later, if other matters be more pressing. And those who find the concept intriguing, give us a little kick, won't you?

Thank you, and good tidings ... to those doing laundry (HA!!! I kill me.).

And now, I depart for the baths.

[caty]

7. I've been a

Humanist Buddhist all my life and I am happy and comfortable with my beliefs. I don't need to add another term to them. But, if anyone can get something out of this movement--good for them!

[chaska]

8. Well, thank you caty, for your generosity of spirit....

I don't believe in much except beauty, the beauty of nature (and our part in it) and the way it all works, but I'm tolerant of pretty much anything that doesn't oppress or repress, or do any of that bad stuff that some of our friends on the right do.

And that's what this is about I think. It's a reactive force for good, whereas what passes for Christianity (in political circles at least) these days is an active force for negative purposes having to do with "pense and power"*.

*Stolen from Tommy Jefferson.

[swag]

10. That name "Brights" reminds me of the "Superfriends" ep of the Simpsons

where Bart accidentally discovers the comet and as reward for his accidental genius is invited to lunch in with such ignominious creatures as Cosine, E-mail, Database, Ham, Report Card, and even Lisa Simpson.

Such an asinine fucking name. So wanky it makes your flesh crawl. As John Bonham once said to Elvis Presley, "You can fuckin' keep it."

[chaska]

12. Huh???

As John Bonham once said to Elvis Presley, "You can fuckin' keep it."

What was the context? That sounds like an interesting meeting.

About the name thing though, I've been in a lot of bands and I've watched how these things go. Every band (democratically organized ones anyway) picks the name that the members all agree they don't hate. It's never the one that everybody loves because everybody loves a different one. Also, at the start of any new organization we see it differently than we do later. That doesn't make any sense. Whatever. We also feel like we have some ownership of a group that is new and that we may be a potential part of, so naturally we want some say in what it may be called.

Just pukin' out some ideas.

[swag]

13. Copped, it seems, from "Hammer of the Gods," a Led Zep bio paperback

(it seems I misremembered the story, if the following account is authoritative)

Later in 1975:
Zeppelin's road manager, the notorious Richard Cole, had become friendly with one of Elvis's bodyguards, Jerry Schilling. The year before, while Led Zeppelin didn't tour, Cole had road-managed Eric Clapton's American tour, and had taken Clapton to meet Elvis in Memphis. Now Cole had decided to meet Elvis again, and arranged to take John Paul Jones up to Elvis's mansion in Bel Air. So they took one of the limos, and when they got to the house they were told not to discuss music with the King and to leave after twenty minutes. Cole walked into Elvis's living room with a cold bottle of Dom Perignon in each hand. They found Elvis sprawled over a couch, wearing pajamas and house slippers, watching television with his entourage. Cole was a little drunk. “Wot the fucking hell is going on here?” he asked good-naturedly. Elvis didn't like people to curse in his house. “Man,” the King said, “what's all this cussing and swearing?” But Cole started to 'kid' Elvis. “You're sittin' there in your fucking carpet slippers and fucking Charlie Hodge is twiddling a fucking pencil over here, what kind of fucking party is this?”
Elvis could take no more. He jumped up in a karate pose and whacked wrists with Cole, who had also gone into fighting stance. On contact, Cole's gold Tiffany watch clattered to the floor. Elvis picked it up. He liked watches, so he put it on. “That's nice,” the King said.
“Ahh, fucking keep it!” Cole said. But giving Elvis a watch set off the Kings automatic gifting mechanisms. Elvis ran out of the room and returned with another watch. Here,” he said, handing it to Cole. “You fucking keep this!!” It was a gold watch decorated with thirty-two diamonds. Then Elvis looked at Jones and said, “Whaddaya got? Gimme your watch.” Jones handed the King his Mickey Mouse watch. Elvis exited and returned with a double-dial (for two time zones) Baume & Mercier watch set in lapis lazuli. Elvis wasn't through. “What else you got?” he asked. Cole gave him his Brazilian amethyst ring. Elvis took a ring off his hand and said, “You can fucking have this,” throwing Cole a two-karat diamond ring engraved with “Love Linda.” Elvis finally let Cole and Jones leave three hours later.
He walked them to their limo in his pajamas and opened the car door for them.
The drivers and the other retainers almost dropped dead.

http://experts.about.com/q/Led-Zeppelin-501/led-zeppelin-1.htm

[Nye Bevan]

14. They weren't so "Bright" when they came up with that horribly smug name

for themselves.

I wonder if they refer to believers as "the Dumbasses"?