Surreal experience - warning political belief expressed

[alee_grrl]

So I was invited to participate in an interview on secular humanism, atheism and religious tolerance in the United States for the BBC Radio 4 show, Americana. It was a very strange experience for me as I do not consider myself a public speaker and tend to be on the introverted side. I also tend to feel that my personal beliefs are just that...personal. However I do believe that the only way to achieve tolerance is to improve communication, which means that more people outside of the "norm" need to be willing to speak about their beliefs in public forums. One of the best ways to encourage tolerance and open minds is to put a human face to whatever is being demonized or vilified.

I personally self identify as pagan. I belong to the Secular Law Society because I feel that religious belief and legal realities should remain separate. I feel that religion is a private thing, a personal choice and that everyone should have the right to believe as they will. As long as my personal beliefs do not infringe on the rights of others I should be allowed to believe as I will. That said, I also feel that no one has the right to push their beliefs on me, just as I do not have the right to push my beliefs on them. A reasonable discourse about beliefs is different from actively pushing those beliefs on others. Reasonable debate is a great way to encourage the growth of ideas and the evolution of belief; things that strengthen society and, in my opinion, improve the quality of life for everyone because such discourse encourages a more open, tolerant society.

Myself and several other members of the campus Secular Law Society were invited to participate in an interview with BBC Radio 4. The interview was conducted via cellphone with an on location free-lance tech on hand to record our responses. I know that we provided more than 50 minutes of tape, and it is a 30 minute show (and I can't imagine we're the only interviewees). So it will be interesting to see how it is cut and framed and which responses are used. It is probably a good thing it was video-taped as I turned bright red while responding. I'm fine when speaking publicly about non-personal matters or performing for a music group, but have me speak publicly about myself and I blush so hard it's a miracle I don't spontaneously combust.

Comments

[jjhunter]

One of the best ways to encourage tolerance and open minds is to put a human face to whatever is being demonized or vilified.

I strongly agree.

[...] but have me speak publicly about myself and I blush so hard it's a miracle I don't spontaneously combust.

Good for you for doing the interview anyway.

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Have you ever thought about writing an essay for NPR's ? You've got the core for one here. I'd be interesting in reading it.

[alee_grrl]

I wasn't aware of NPR's collection of essays. I will have to think about fleshing this out and submitting an essay. Thank you for the idea, and for saying that it is something you would be interested in reading. :)

[moonbathe_skin]

I shall look out for that, I listen to Radio 4 all the time!

[alee_grrl]

Awesome! It premiers Sunday evening at 7:15 pm according to the schedule.