Assumed Intellect

Last year I took a very pleasant vacation in the south of England with my family. Newquay is a glorious and splendid example of everything that makes England great. Every turn produces another picture-postcard image of idyllic Britain. It was while visiting the harbour that I made this startling discovery; The human race has completely given up on the environment. That may sound overly dramatic, but I whole heartedly believe it to be true. Don't get me wrong, I know that there are many, many occupants of the blue planet who fight tooth and nail everyday to protect her and all that share her resources with us, but I'm beginning to think this may be an uphill battle that cannot be won. While gazing out over the harbour towards the crystal clear Atlantic Ocean on a beautiful morning with my daughter, I noticed a seal swimming next to the fishing boats. This is obviously a regular occurrence and the fishermen seemed all too used to the sight. What was startling and frankly very sad...

I am trying to raise my daughter to have faith. Not faith in unproven, existential beings. Not faith that all people are essentially good (I don't believe that to be true and so would have a real problem selling it to Emma as a philosophy). No, I am trying to raise her to have faith that asking questions until you hear an answer that satisfies your curiosity is a worthwhile endeavour. In fact sometimes, asking questions is more important than getting answers. That takes real faith in your convictions. It is extremely difficult to attempt to instil faith in another living, breathing, pooping human being when the word itself has been commandeered by the non-secular. When I discuss the things I want for my daughter with other friendly, ever so slightly passive- aggressive parents, I am told that developing faith means that I must educate her to believe even without proof and hand over some of my daughter's already well developed sense of inquisition. I don't use the word “pop...