"Idea of the Day" a proposal for Dorset Humanists & other humanists to give a non religious "Thought for the Day"

I propose to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the first humanist "Thought for the Day" on BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

In this two-and-a-half minute slot on 14th August 2002, Humanist Professor Richard Dawkins from Oxford University, argued science gave a better explanation of life than religion.

British Humanist Association advise that The Humanist Society of Scotland (HSS) thinkhumanist.org broadcast their first "Thought for the Day" on 12th February 2007 (Darwin Day) with Prof. AC Grayling whose thought was about tolerance in society. Following the launch week, the HSS will invite humanists from around the world to podcast on the site, so there is always an alternative to the BBC's Thought for the Day for non-religious thinkers.

"Idea of the Day" - Four proposals

On 26th November 2006 an Ipsos MORI poll has shown that 36% of UK people – equivalent to around 17 million adults – are in fact humanists in their basic outlook.

Firstly, I propose that a two-and-a-half minute talk on the Today programme by a humanist be called "Idea of the Day" to distinguish these talks from the religious "Thought for the Day"

Secondly, I propose that for five days commencing 14th August 2007 a member of Dorset Humanist Association give their two-and-a-half minute "Idea of the Day" to be broadcast on dorsethumanists.co.uk

Thirdly, I propose that BBC Radio 4 Today programme introduce a two-and-a-half minute humanist "Idea of the Day" at 8.50am, one hour after the religious "Thought for the Day", commencing 14th August 2007.

Fourthly, I propose to invite the BBC to broadcast my two-and-a-half minute humanist "Idea of the Day" on BBC Radio 4 Today programme at 8.50am on Tuesday 14th August 2007, IF, AND ONLY IF, four other humanists (via Pledgebank.com) are also invited to give their "Idea of the Day" that week.

Radio 4 "Thought for the Day" Policy
Radio 4's policy of not including non-religious contributors has been heavily criticised - leading to more than 100 public figures demanding the "ban" be lifted.

However, Prof Dawkins's broadcast did not replace the regular daily slot but ran an hour afterwards as an unofficial "Thought".

Christine Morgan, who produces the series, said the official "Thought" would remain closed to non-religious voices.

She told the Today programme: "This short strand is unique, offering a faith perspective within a news programme.

"If we include secular voices, we undermine the slot's very distinctiveness."

Humanist Richard Dawkins gave the first "Thought of the Day" on BBC Radio 4 Today programme - 14th August 2002

Humanist Richard Dawkins gave the first "Thought for the Day" on BBC Radio 4 Today programme

Wednesday, 14 August, 2002, 14:27 GMT 15:27 UK

Atheist gives Thought for the Day

Professor Dawkins delivered an unofficial "Thought"

A scientist has become the first atheist to deliver a Thought for the Day on the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme.

In his two-and-a-half minute slot, Professor Richard Dawkins from Oxford University, argued science gave a better explanation of life than religion.

Radio 4's policy of not including non-religious contributors has been heavily criticised - leading to more than 100 public figures demanding the "ban" be lifted.

However, Prof Dawkins's broadcast did not replace the regular daily slot but ran an hour afterwards as an unofficial "Thought".

Humanity can now leave the cry-baby phase and finally come of age - that is a thought for more than one day

Professor Richard Dawkins

Christine Morgan, who produces the series, said the official "Thought" would remain closed to non-religious voices.

She told the Today programme: "This short strand is unique, offering a faith perspective within a news programme.

"If we include secular voices, we undermine the slot's very distinctiveness."

In his talk, Prof Dawkins argued that science had managed to explain many of the mysteries of life and that believing that God could protect us was an "infantile regression".

'End the ban'

He said: "We have been born and we are going to die, but before we die we have time to understand why we were born.

"Humanity can now leave the cry-baby phase and finally come of age - that is a thought for more than one day."

Prof Dawkins was one of 102 people who put their name to the letter to the BBC governors, drawn up by the British Humanist Association, the National Secular Society and the Rationalist Press Association.

The letter read: "By resolutely retaining the ban, the BBC is discriminating against the non-religious, and thus giving the impression of promoting religion as the one source of ethics."

reposted from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2193321.stm
my highlights / emphasis / comments

Thought for the Day - some comments

Some Comments on Think Humanist Thought For The Day.

“I was always told that extraordinary claims need extraordinary proof; religions make the most utterly extraordinary claims while offering no real proof whatsoever, and yet are allowed to go unchallenged even by those who ought to know better. It is this unthinking acceptance of religion?s absurd pampering that ideas like the Darwin day podcasts seek to challenge. Such ideas have rarely been more timely.”
Iain Banks

“It is wrong that ‘Thought for the Day’ refuses to have any but religious voices on it. The far richer and longer-standing humanist tradition, stemming from Socrates to our own day, is a treasure-house of insights and perspectives that our world is tragically lacking, oppressed as it is by mainly religion-fuelled divisions and atrocities. The Humanist Society of Scotland has done us a service in offering a real alternative to predictable pieties that now speak to minorities only in our society.”
A.C. Grayling

The BBC's refusal to allow non-religious voices on Thought for the Day infuriates me, so I was delighted to hear about the Humanist TFTD and have just listened to Kate Hudson.

A big disappointment.

I get indigestion when Anne Atkins uses the slot to force-feed us with her religious views. Kate Hudson did exactly the same with her peace movement views, and I suffered exactly the same reaction.

Surely the idea of the slot is to provide a stimulating thought, often with a link to a topic in the news, not to propagandise.

2007-02-14 15:49:23

Jeremy Rodell

5

It's a shame you thought that Jeremy. I thought it was lovely piece about Love. Sure she talks about the CND, I would imagine it means a lot to her: if only more people felt as passionately about what they believed in.

Have you listened to the last two archived podcasts? They are also really interesting and thought provoking.

Humanism is a 'broad church' and we will never all agree but at least kate's podcast made you think enough to comment.

2007-02-14 16:42:07

Humanista

reposted from: http://www.thinkhumanist.org/
my highlights / emphasis / comments

Google 15 - Motivation to lose weight - 2

Bananas for lunch (not All Day Breakfast) help.

My target weight loss is 0.5 pounds per week. Actual loss is 187 pounds (2nd October 2006) to 174.1 pounds (15th Feb 2007) viz 13 pounds in 39 weeks or 0.33 per week (with blip up at Xmas!).

I'm on target to lose further 19 pounds (155 pounds) by April 2008.

Waist to hip ratio target 0.95 or 94cm waist /99cm hip.
30/12/06 was 104cm waist /99 hip cm= 1.05

Today 100.5cm waist, hip 99.5cm. Ratio: 1.01. 1'm no longer abdominally obese (>=102cm waist)!

Tell the world "I'll do it, but only if you'll help me do it" - PledgeBank

What a brilliant idea!! Pledgebank will be massive influence for democracy. The last pledge listed on this page is particularly poignant.

About Pledgebank
You can listen to an MP3 of this instead.

Hello. I'm Tom Steinberg, the director of mySociety, the charitable group which is building PledgeBank. I've taken the unusual step of recording this introduction because PledgeBank is a slightly unusual idea. I've found that explaining it in person often works better than using the written word.

We all know what it is like to feel powerless, that our own actions can't really change the things that we want to change. PledgeBank is about beating that feeling by connecting you with other people who also want to make a change, but who don't want the personal risk of being the only person to turn up to a meeting or the only person to donate ten pounds to a cause that actually needed a thousand.

The way it works is simple. You create a pledge which has the basic format 'I'll do something, but only if other people will pledge to do the same thing'. For example, if you'd always want to organise a street party you could organise a pledge which said 'I'll hold a street party, but only if three people who live in my street will help me to run it'

The applications of PledgeBank are limitless. If you are a parent you could say that 'I will help run an after hours sports club but only if 5 other parents will commit one evening a week to doing it '. If you are in a band you could say 'I'll hold a gig but only if 40 people will come along'.

PledgeBank has been undergoing real world testing for a few weeks already, and there are already some successful completed pledges completely outside our original ideas of how people might use the site. One person gathered 20 other fans of a BBC radio series to lobby for its release on CD. Another encouraged 8 people who he'd never met to bury buckets in their own gardens to make homes for endangered stag beetles. And a member of an online community said he'd organise a 5th birthday party and now has 30 members of that community saying they'll come along.

PledgeBank isn't just limited to people who use the internet a lot. You can sign up to any pledge with a simple two word text message (in the UK only). Ideal for getting your friends in the pub involved, people in your street and so on.

PledgeBank is free, easy to use, and needs your involvement before we can launch. So if there's something you'd like to achieve in your community, in your place of employment, your university, amongst your friends, or in your street, please take a look at PledgeBank.com and create a pledge right now. Thank you.

FAQ

• To PledgeBank front page

Lists of pledges - Open

• "I will donate $65 to help 2 women in Niger (West Africa) become literate but only if 10 other people anywhere in the world will do the same."

  — Vickram, from Toronto, Canada

  Deadline to sign up by: 31^st January 2007
  5 people have signed up, 5 more needed

• "I will get this to the PM and show him we will not stand for horse slaughtering in the UK but only if 100 or more other caring people will do the same."

  — Julia Donald

  Deadline to sign up by: 1^st August 2007
  82 people have signed up, 18 more needed

  Country: United Kingdom

• "I will do all in my power to put an end to private firework displays in the UK but only if 10 other local people will do the same."

  — Pamela Alford, Resident of Station Ces, Ashford TW15

  Deadline to sign up by: 31^st January 2007
  4 people have signed up, 6 more needed

  Country: United Kingdom
  Postcode area: TW15 (view map)

• "I will HItch Hike to Morocco!!!! but only if 20 other people will donate £5 to the Indian 'New Life' Orphanage."

  — Jes Howarth, Student of Sussex University

  Deadline to sign up by: 1^st March 2007
  6 people have signed up, 14 more needed

  Country: United Kingdom

• "I will arrange for my MP to receive a copy of Richard Dawkins' book "The God Delusion" but only if 645 other people (one per UK constituency) will do the same for other MPs."

  — J Christie

  Deadline to sign up by: 31^st March 2007
  189 people have signed up, 456 more needed

  Country: United Kingdom

• "I will refuse to fill out the 2011 UK census unless there is a Cornish ethnicity tick box option but only if 1,000 other people will do the same."

  — Chris Jones

  Deadline to sign up by: 1^st January 2011
  59 people have signed up, 941 more needed

Successful pledges, closed to new signers (250)

Failed Pledges (336)

Successful pledges, open to new signers

• "I will ask my MP to pledge his or her support - and vote - to stop the clock being put back an hour in winter depriving us of an hour's daylight in the evening but only if 50 other people will do the same."

  — Victor Keegan, Writer

  Deadline to sign up by: 30^th January 2007
  67 people have signed up (17 over target)

• "I will write to the Secretary of State for Health and insist she looks into the nutritional benefits of freshly extracted fruit and vegetable juice but only if 15 other people will do the same."

  — Kris Talikowski

  Deadline to sign up by: 1^st March 2007
  15 people have signed up

• "I will Not vote for any political party that does not oppose national- ID cards but only if 20 other people will do the same."

  — Peter Lucas, advocate of democracy

  Deadline to sign up by: 1^st May 2007
  37 people have signed up (17 over target)

• "I will use Open Office all the time instead of Microsoft Office but only if 22 other people will do the same."

  — Cybersavvy, Open Source convert

  Deadline to sign up by: 1^st July 2007
  38 people have signed up (16 over target)

• "I will campaign for changes to the electoral system to make voting abstentions count but only if 10 other people will do the same."

  — Steve N, resident of Greenwich, London

  Deadline to sign up by: 31^st December 2008
  23 people have signed up (13 over target)

• "I will contact tony blair and get the shooting of my daughter looked in to again but only if 10 other local people will do the same."

  — jacqui probert, horfield bristol

  Deadline to sign up by: 2^nd October 2007
  15 people have signed up (5 over target)