Our Public Servants Must be Futurists
Tags:American Humanist, Politics, Religion
Our Public Servants Must be Futurists
From Policy and Political Director Rachel Deitch
So, in case you haven’t heard, there’s an election in less than a month. It’s a big one; they say it’s the most important election of our era. (Aren’t they all?) And based on the data we have from past elections, the odds are that–in this century-defining moment–the average eligible voter didn’t vote in the primary election. But that same eligible voter in Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, or Maine will vote in the general. And those same odds say that the average eligible voter in Texas, South Carolina, Illinois, or California won’t vote.
If you are a humanist, though, odds are that you plan on voting. Odds are that you’ll vote early, and that you voted in the last midterm election (if you were eligible). Odds are that you and other humanists in your community will vote for the same candidates. And odds are that you see yourself as a voter.
The odds (or in this case the peer-reviewed study) show that your humanism will be a stronger predictor of if you vote and who you vote for than your income, education, or geography. That’s because voting is a moral act of construction.
Now, I’m not dense. Yes, of course voting about gas prices, and health insurance premiums, and if your brother is going to be deployed to some stupid (qua violently unnecessary) war. But, we aren’t casting our votes based on where we are now. We are casting our votes based on what our “public servants” (remember that dusty phrase?) promise to create in the future, and how much we trust that promise. Because every politician at this point promises to lower gas prices, but they have different reasons for doing it and a different way they plan to get it done. There’s an undervalued job requirement of our public servants (yes, I refuse to give up the phrase): they must be futurists. They have to be able to stand where we are now and see something different. And then they have to convince us they can craft and enact the policies that get us there. And then we get to vote for them–or not.
And deciding what kind of world you want to create with your vote is absolutely a moral question. But if that’s where the analysis ends, then every person with a moral code would vote. But we know that’s not true, and that humanists and atheists vote at higher rates than their religious counterparts.
Now this is where I depart the data completely and offer my own untested hypothesis: humanists vote at the astoundingly high levels we do because we aren’t only futurists; we’re futurists who know that the only way we get to the future we want is if we make it. And it starts, on November 3, with our vote.
If I’m losing you at this point because this seems naive or pollyannish, I offer this: In our awful current system (looking at you, Citizens United and whatever bullcrap election-day interference we might expect), politicians and special interest can try to buy our vote or convince us that it’s a waste of time to cast a ballot. But they can’t actually buy it, and – for the most part – they can’t actually prevent us from walking into the voting booth. Voters still get to walk into the polls and vote. And the data shows that the voters who show up will vote their conscience.
But I don’t take stake in the odds that you’ll vote. When 40% of eligible voters sit out elections, that includes not insignificant numbers of our community – numbers that could make a real difference in who represents you from school board to Senate.
So, I’m not going to trust it will happen, I’m going to ask you to join me and your fellow humanists in voting this year. The data says that the best question I can ask you is: What’s your voting plan? Answer for yourself: what day you’ll vote, what time, how you’ll get to the polls (or drop off your ballot) and who you’ll bring with you. Odds are, if you take the time to answer those questions, you’re much more likely to cast your ballot. If you don’t yet have a voting plan, make one today.
In a year where the odds are that a third of races will be decided by margins of 10% or less, humanists know better than to count on the odds. Instead, we’ll make the future we want to see.
For humanity,
Rachel
The American Humanist Association
<span data-metadata="“>The American Humanist Association (AHA) works to protect the rights of Humanists, atheists, and other nontheistic Americans. The AHA advances the ethical and life-affirming worldview of Humanism, which—without beliefs in gods or other supernatural forces—encourages individuals to live informed and meaningful lives that aspire to the greater good of humanity.
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Salem Witch Museum to give Batavia High students free tickets after pastor’s objection
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The Salem Witch Museum tells me they will offer complementary tickets to all seniors visiting as part of a planned class trip next summer after a Batavia City Schools board member, who also works as a pastor, voted against the trip because he didn’t want kids going to a “Satanic” venue.
I first reported on this issue a few weeks ago.
Seniors at Batavia High School in New York had asked the school board to approve a class trip to Boston next summer, and it should have been a formality. The students would fundraise to lower costs. And their draft itinerary, which included the famous Duck Tour, a dinner cruise, and a stop at the Salem Witch Museum, looked fantastic.
But during the board meeting, Dan Schmidt, who serves as lead pastor at the Batavia Assembly of God Church, couldn’t get past the idea of students visiting a “witch museum.”
He said Christians wouldn’t want to go and that they would feel excluded if their friends went—even though 1) this was a draft itinerary subject to change, and 2) the museum doesn’t encourage witchcraft. It chronicles the infamous “witch trials” from the 1600s and highlights the problem with “witch hunts” in general. It’s educational! The museum teaches us what can happen when people look for outcasts to blame for everything that goes wrong, leading to mass hysteria, false accusations, and needless violence.
Despite everyone else trying to explain that to him, Schmidt held firm during the board meeting, refusing to listen to voices of reason.
He later admitted to a reporter, “I can’t really say that I know the history of it.” Nevertheless, he added, “I think Jesus would frown on this” and that he just didn’t think visiting the museum was “the healthiest choice for our students.”
He was the lone vote against approving the trip.
But the good news was that the other board members weren’t as ignorant and approved the trip, so there were no other obstacles in the students’ way.
Deanna King, a mother of one of the students helping organize the trip, began a fundraiser after that board meeting. (She also made a fantastic video highlighting the absurdity of Schmidt’s comments.) The money was initially just going to cover the cost of museum tickets—but she raised enough that she could even help lower the cost of the entire trip in general. That alone is incredible.
Over the past few days, though, myself, Deanna, and administrators at the museum have been in contact to see if there’s anything more we can to to help these students out, and I’m thrilled to announce that the Salem Witch Museum will offer free tickets to all the Batavia seniors who visit during their class trip.
Rachel Christ-Doane, the museum’s Director of Education, told me they’ve never seen this particular type of backlash where an entire group was discouraged from visiting. But when museum administrators saw this story gaining traction, they knew immediately that they wanted to give the students free tickets. “It was a no-brainer,” she told me.
They got overwhelmed with work—for some reason, the museum gets swamped before Halloween—but as soon as they could, they reached out, and it didn’t take long for both groups to hammer out the details.
It’s not just a publicity stunt either; As Christ-Doane reiterated, this is an educational museum. If students want to spend their time learning about this particular aspect of American history, the museum wants to welcome them with open arms.
It’s worth mentioning that the museum will be closed early next year for renovations, so when they reopen, and when those students visit, there will be new and improved exhibits for them to experience. It’ll be unforgettable.
Since the museum tickets will be free, that also means the full amount Deanna has raised can go toward lowering the cost of the trip for students who may not be able to afford it—or covering the full cost for a handful of kids. She told me in a statement that this blew up in the best possible way:
What started with one school board member’s comments has turned into something much bigger. There’s also a little irony in Salem, of all places, responding to fear and misinformation with education, generosity and kindness.
These seniors now have the chance to make memories and learn the history for themselves, which is exactly what education is supposed to be about.
She’s right, of course. The trip is meant to be both fun and educational—a last hurrah for the students before they go their separate ways—and thankfully, they can now focus on planning the best possible trip and not worry about what one ignorant board member has to say about any of this.
Dan Schmidt did not respond to my request for comment.
