I have a deep fear of rednecks. As a 6 year walking alone to school in smalltown America during the height of the US involvement in Vietnam, I got blamed for the war. I had slanty eyes and looked like the enemy. Thus I was bullied, taunted and teased. That's probably why I feel more at home in cities and amongst educated people. Being in the US after 911 scared the hell out of me. America was gearing up for conflict based on ignorance, propaganda and the exploitation of passion untempered by reason. I could smell the rednecks a coming out of the woodwork and so I got out of that country fast!

I now find myself experiencing this same fear with this new Richard Dawkins/Brights movement. I've got no problem with atheism. What what worries me is that lately, I perceive an atmosphere of of sarcasm and hostility toward others with a different view. Ironically, athiests were always one of the groups whom I used to feel safe with. By and large I used to see atheists as rational, logical and reasonable people. I don't think I would be wrong in stating that by and large atheists tend to come from the more educated and intelligent.

Richard Dawkins is making out that atheists are an oppressed class of people. There is probably some truth in this as Amercia is becoming over- by zealots. But it's an exaggeration and like a virus, this attitude spreads among atheists. It then becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. In other words, he is amplifying whatever potential for hostility was there in the first place. I will agree that religious fundamentalism has taken over America in a big way. I think this can be largely blamed on George Bush's government who have spread lies, stereotypes and falshoods. They've created a more dangerous world than was there before 911. There are more terrorists today than there were before 911.

The Universe is intelligent and God exists. Why do I believe this? Perhaps I shall begin by defining my terms.

My definition of God is everything that exists, has existed and will exist. If you were to take the entirety of all existance and assign a name to it. I would label it God. God to me is the one. It is the word to describe all there is. Just as a house is made of bricks, mortar, plaster, etc. When you want to describe the house as a unit or one, you call it "house". Likewise all that is, was and will be is God. .

I would consider God, which is the one of all things, intelligent. But possibly not in the way most athiests would define intelligence or consciousness. I believe bees are intelligent. Likewise, birds, fish, amoebas, sperm and apple trees. You can call it evolution, whatever the mechanism, it is intelligent. Evolution requires a great deal of intelligence. To react and adapt to your environment is intelligence. (By my definition, some humans are dumber than birds, fish, amoebas, sperm or apple trees!) To assume human intelligence is somehow the only intelligence and somehow superior is somehow...not intelligent. Whoops! . All living things are intelligent. God encompasses all living things. Therefore God is intelligent.

I would say God is conscious just as I would say everything alive is conscious. Scientists have tried to define consciousness as being aware of oneself. I would argue that it is perfectly possible to be unselfconscious, yet conscious. Babies are not unconsious. Likewise birds, fish, amoebas, sperm or apple trees do react and therefore seem to hold some kind of awareness of the environment. As far as I'm concerned that awareneness is consciousness.

God as the sum of all things exists, is intelligent and conscious.

And you thought I believed in a man with a big white beard huh? No that guy is Santa Claus! Sheeesh!

According to Dawkins the question as to the purpose of the Universe is "STUPID". Why is the question stupid? Because Richard Dawkins can't answer it. Thus Dawkins belittles his customer. Children go through a phase where they play a little game called WHY? They badger their parents with ever increasingly diffcult "WHY"'s until they can no longer answer. At that point, the frustrated parent pulls rank. "Because I said so! Now go brush your teeth and get to bed!"

Thus Richard Dawkins' rather egotistical ambition to rid the world of religion has hit a wall. In his exuberance, he has ignored that science, philosophy and religion though interelated and sharing common characteristics are not interchangeable. No Dawkins appears not have thought far or deeply enough into this issue.

There is probably not a being on planet Earth who has not asked these questions. What is the purpose and meaning of life? Why are we here? So is everybody who has asked this question throughout history just been STUPID for asking? Has there been no intelligent life on Earth before the appearance of Richard Dawkins?

Science may one day explain the mechanism behind everything. But it won't explain WHY? Simply to bury your head in the sand and to ignore the question and worse yet, to label it as STUPID is guaranteed to lose you points even at the high school debate level.

Ok, so I am genuinely fascinated and curious. If there are any Brights out there, can you please tell me:

What is the meaning of life for you?

Why are we here?

Is there a purpose or reason for living?

Well I'm fascinated and puzzled by this new movement calling themselves the Brights. According the website http://www.the-brights.net :