U.S. Embassy Protests in the Middle East

As everyone is likely, well aware, Protests in the Middle East outside of U.S. Embassy's over a distasteful cartoon video have gotten out of hand.  If you have read my previous posts, then you have probably have a sense for my feelings on the Middle East.  Like America, I have nothing against the majority of the people, culture, and religions.  There are a few exceptions, however.

Perhaps it is my privilege and bias for having been raised in a country where free speech is not only allowed, but often encouraged.  Had someone created a cartoon poking fun at Jesus, people in the U.S. would find it distasteful and offensive, but no one would lose their lives over it.  A cartoon of this genre, should not invoke deaths and violent protests, this is the fault of religious extremism, which is not unique to Islam.  Christians have had their fair share (Norway shooter, Oklahoma City bombings etc.).

Being an individual, speaking out against the majority in the Middle East, is likely to be a life threatening event.  Their culture and governments do not support individualism as it is supported in the U.S. which is why this escapade has become so dangerous, and why some people have taken such offense to the cartoon.

I am the first person to defend the majority of people in the Middle East from ridicule.  I have many Arab friends and I feel no differently about them than my other friends, but the recent deadly protests have made it difficult to defend some of the people in the Middle East.  It's easy to lump everyone in a country, culture, or race together.  I try very hard not to do this, every country, culture, and race has extremists including the citizens of the U.S.  I know that the individuals responsible for protesting and creating violence are an infinitesimally small minority of the population, but Islam all ready has a bad name for extremism, making it even harder to defend.

Religious extremism has fueled so many of the world's wars, it's saddening to watch it continue to happen in my generation.  I hear and read of people bad-mouthing Atheists every day.  I do not take this personally, I assume it is due to their ignorance and nothing more.  I would, however, take it personally should I be physically attacked and my life threatened over being an Atheist.

This has all gotten well out of hand, the Middle East has suffered turmoil for far too long.  They need calm and stability, but for that occur, the religious extremists have to be considered separately from the majority of citizens.  U.S. news agencies do a very poor job of showing America the majority of Arabs, and focus more on the intolerant and violent individuals.  I urge everyone to keep this in mind.  Arabs are not the enemy, Islam is not the enemy, Christianity is not the enemy.  Extremism is, despite it's depiction as being widespread and prevalent, the majority of the citizens of the Middle East are nothing but peaceful.

Can you imagine a world at peace?  Without religion, we could come close.

Thanks for reading,

-The Atheist Physician

When Your Lack of Belief Leaves You All Alone

The prominent philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once stated: "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.  If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened.  But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself."


So what do you do when you find that you are all alone amongst your family and your peers with your lack of belief?

There are a lot of potentially good answers.  For me, when I feel like no one else around me seems to see the world the way that I see it, I go back to the basics.  I start by examining how I reached the conclusion that there is not likely to be a god or any other deity.  I consider the natural truths that I find around me each day, I consider the logic that I employ to get me through each day, and I remember the people that have influenced me most on the subject.  All of this reminds me that I did not arrive at my conclusions on a whim.  Rather, my belief structure was created by the journey I have taken thus far in my life.  No single event in my life has defined me or my belief.  If for nothing else, this provides some solace, that I know my conclusion were not made in haste, and that a great deal of consideration and thought have been invested in them.  This helps me to remain steadfast. It is all too easy to fall into mainstream and "go-with-the-flow," instead of critically examining my beliefs.

Though the above suggestions may help strengthen your resolve to maintain your belief structure, it doesn't solve the issue of feeling alone.   Since you are reading this on the internet, it's safe to assume you have access to the internet, and as you all ready know, the internet is a nearly unlimited source of information and provides a boundless medium to connect to other people.  Other people, that share your same beliefs, so, use it!  One of my favorite places to visit is Atheist Nexus.  There are plenty of individuals that are happy to offer support and suggestions on how to deal with the sometimes daily hardships of being a minority group.

Finding other Atheists to meet in person may be difficult.  Like you, they may be struggling with issues of discrimination based upon their beliefs, and being open about them can be taxing for anyone.  One way of meeting others like you, may be to find a local Humanist group.  I've found that open Atheists tend to comprise a significant proportion of individuals that are active in their local Humanist groups.  A list of local chapters of the Center for Inquiry can be found here. This would be a great place to start.

If all else fails, message me.  I'm typically very good at responding quickly, and I know I had people to support me when I was questioning whether or not it was worth holding onto my belief structure, or if it would be better to give in to mainstream.  I can only hope I would be able to help others in a similar way.  Once again, the internet provides an impressive venue for such an event.

Just remember that you are certainly not alone.  It is a struggle, and though religious individuals may be irritating at times, be pleasant to them.  You never know when they may have a change in their beliefs, and may need you to welcome them with open arms, and support them along their journey.

Have a great week.

Take care,
-The Atheist Physician

Decisions, Decisions.....

I recently completed my first audition rotation for a residency program in the area of medicine I hope to practice.  Every program has its pros and cons, but of course these are not equal.  The best strategy I've developed so far is to assign a point value system to help me decide where I want to go.

I start by making a list of characteristics that I want from a program, this could be anything from the time I would start each day, the pay, the benefits, the time off, the type of patients I would see, the number of patients I would see, to the area in which I would have to live.  I then assign an importance value for each of these characteristics as they pertain to each program.  I then add all of the values for each program and I now have a numerical or quantitative way to rating each program based on my own preferences.  It might look something like this:  I assigne a value 1 through 5 to each category for each program.  1 being I'm not really a fan of the category in that program. and 5 being that I am very happy with that particular category for that particular program.

                                             Program 1                                  Program 2                        

Type of patients                           3                                                  2                                      

Number of patients                      4                                                  3                                      

Where I would live                      5                                                  4                                      

My supervisors                            2                                                  3                                      

Pay                                              3                                                  4                                      

Benefits                                       5                                                  2                                      

Time off                                      5                                                  3                                      
                                                                                                                                               


                                                   27                                                 21                                    




So, while I was trying to qualitatively measure and compare each program, I found it really difficult to tell which one I like more, because they each had different aspects I liked.  By putting it all into numbers based on my qualitative observations of each program, I have now found that there is one clear winner in this situation.  I enjoyed more aspects of program 1 than any other.

This sort of decisions making can be used with almost anything.  I hope that it might help someone else out there that is having a difficult time making tough decisions.  This has always helped me.  Of course, you could always try flipping a coin and right at the moment when you send the coin flipping into the air, you will know which choice you are hoping for.

Have a great week everyone,

-The Atheist Physician.