Shower Epiphany: Imagine no Fear

I've come to realize that if I can dismantle the Atheist movement to one of it's key component it would be do not teach a child anything fear based.  I'll explain.

When a child is born until the age of let's say 14 or so when they're able to develop empathy, children basically learn how the universe works. One physical as in, gravity pulls things down, day/night, how their bodies work, and cause and effect. Until a certain age they stumble through life understanding how their actions affect the physical world and the physical world affect their actions. Simply things that lead to so many why questions chained together in a desire to understand the rules of how the world works.

The second relationship they learn is social. Who wears pants and dresses. Why we speak certain words and try not to speak others. How to communicate with each others and trying to understand or ignore the differences in others. In the early years we discover out first protectors, our parents as we are powerless and let them guide us into life. They, if present, teach us the ceremonies that will show us how to behave among others as well as our first imprint of our moral compass. Here we learn if it's ok to hurt others and under what conditions it's alright, wrong in others and how some things are right and wrong. Here we teach them to question and/or accept. They are taught to ponder or to trust willingly. They are taught the values in life not only in verbal responses, but also in environmental ques.

Here is where we arrive at our issue and I think we can make this a universal issue and goal if we can simply all agree with it. Since most of us, myself included, have spent a good chunk of life trying to undo what our parent taught us. Sometimes out of survival and other times out of ignorance of anything better. And others because it's best not to question and keep your eyes on the ground. Here we have many ideologies and any methods that in truth we can not see their error until a generation is finally "grown". This is when the young in either revered or sacrificed to the needs of the elder generation, in many cases to simply support a system that may not be best. Here is where I think we can breach the gap where many raise weapons as well as prejudices based in false information.

If we all agree not to raise our children in fear. Now, let me explain. I do not mean to avoid the concept of fear as in taking an action that can hurt or make a life difficult such as drinking bleach, killing someone or anything else that has a high risk of harm to anyone involved. What I mean is when the child questions we have to offer an answer that is not based in fear. We have people working their lives at jobs because they fear having nothing. We have people who horde weapons and ideologies that are used as weapons to "protect" them from others. We have a habit of painting people as "OTHERS" and "THEM" and making our comparisons in a protagonist/antagonist structure rather than people with various view that have a connecting point with each other in A), B) or C).

If we can attempt to explain the world to this new generation without fear then we can improve life. If we can give them an understanding with information based in reason (we have this in common and we are able to communicate to share ideas) rather than fear (i.e. because they are not us and we are not them) we can prevent dehumanizing others as well as ourselves in the process. We can make our conflicting issues and make them minor. We can make the issues that lead us to harm others and make them what they are, barbaric and self limiting. We can hold a standard that was held by few societies and among many people who may have been in one official camp or claim to a label yet can see that an action or principle is universal and if you show kindness, understanding and empathy rather than fear, narrow mindedness, and bigotry we can be ahead of the game. I don't mind Jesus until you have Jesus camp. I don't mind Islam until I'm called an infidel. I don't mind Scientology, Mormonism, or even the Jehovah witnesses until I hear how people are separated into categories rather treated as people and the facade of lets be kind to each other is removed to show how old men plan on making life better for old men. I don't mind some atheists until they start making taking up old ideal that religion is condemned on as a means of removing religion off the face of the earth (there was another nice little German man who spoke the same way, wonder how he ended up?).

If we can agree with removing fear form out lives as well as a medium for teaching the new generation we can end some conflict and all actually earn those titles of "peacemaker" for ourselves rather than the one of many guns we own.

Just a thought.