As my time in academia draws to a close I feel myself pulled toward the religious news of the day and wanting, dearly desiring, to make some kind of comment, to poke fun, to share a laugh, to share thoughts.  A friend once told me that maintaining a blog after graduation can serve as a good method of  catharsis, a way to maintain whatever skills and insight you gain from your courses, a way of organizing your thoughts and keeping alive whatever spark sent you into your chosen field.  This will take some getting used to, since for me this venue was always a personal one.  But for the first time since the Year of Faith project, I have a genuine urge to "blog" as the kids say. 

Anyway, I just wanted to say something about this particular... thing that I saw via the rabid atheists at Richarddawkins.net.


Now, I don't know what to say or do abut what this Congressman actually said.  I really have no idea where to begin.  But what I would like to point out is the the woman on the right hand side (just over his left shoulder) and her expressions during Mr. Shimkus's spiel.  Her very knowing glances and smiles communicate everything I would have attempted to say on the matter.  It is a familiar look, a familiar kind of amused silence that speaks volumes when presented with this kind of argument.  It is something Sam Harris once referred to as the price one pays for religious literalism and supernatural foundamentalism, "they pay for it in ill-conceived laughter."  It is this same look that I have exchanged in the past with classmates when met with similar kinds of talk. 

Or perhaps what he said reminded her of her grand scheme to firebomb a local Christian orhpanage in the name of reason and unbelief.  It's an expression, it can be ambiguous, but that is what I saw and I thought it was funny.