Impossible Music, Hitchens, Gillard, The "New Agnostics"

Last night was the second of the Impossible Music Sessions, featuring the music of the Baloberos Crew played and reimagined by Hasan Salaam. If you're unfamiliar, the Impossible Music Sessions is a nonprofit organization that features artists who are not able to appear to play the music they are not free to make. Instead, musicians are found who learn their music and cover it at Littlefield. The event was a lot of fun, with a rap battle finale over ooVoo (it's like skype) between the Baloberos Crew and Hasan! Epic?

There was one thing I was disappointed by though: Hasan dropped a little god-talk during the set. This isn't uncommon for rappers (from what I can tell), but it was especially disappointing given the theme of the evening. The reason why the Baloberos Crew was not able to play their music is because it is politically charged rap, informing the listener as to the unstable and brutal political climate in Guinea Bissau. Their track "7 minutes of truth" tells of the recent coup and assassinations in the country. Hasan spent much of the evening motivating the audience to do something about the situation in GB - spreading the information however possible was desperately needed. My problem with his god-talk is that by my lights it has the opposite effect. If you want to motivate people to care about something and to help change it, talking about your belief in a god that is looking out for you, that will dole out cosmic justice isn't going to do it! I find it much more motivating to go out and try to change the world when you realize that there isn't any cosmic force that's looking out for you. It really is up to us! The only justice in the world is the justice we fight for.

Christopher Hitchens recently reported that he is undergoing chemotherapy for his esophagus. When I first got into all this free thought nonsense, watching his debates on the internet and reading God is not Great helped. I hope he defeats this and sticks around for a while yet, but I am reminded of the line from Blade Runner: "The light that burns twice as bright, burns only half as long." According to his recent memoir, Hitch-22, he has burned quite brightly.

There's been quite a buzz over the new Australian PM, Julia Gillard because she's an atheist who "won't pretend to be religious" to get votes. I respect that, but what I don't respect is her backwards stance on gay marriage. Really, how hard is it to take a progressive stance on this issue? It's such an easy question. After reading that, her atheism means very little to me. What good is critical thinking if it's sequestered to one area? I suppose it's helpful in the long run, just frustrating.

Finally, Ron Rosenbaum wrote a piece for Slate where he defines himself as a "New Agnostic," an offshoot from the "New Atheists." Why does he disagree with the new atheists? Because their position is just like religion, dogmatic and unyielding. It's the same tired argument that has been batted down a hundred times. This piece is even more frustrating than the news about Gillard. You don't write a piece like this unless you have acquainted yourself with the new atheists' literature and arguments. Not only has Rosenbaum clearly not read their arguments, it seems he doesn't even understand what atheism is. For the hundredth time, what is atheism? Atheism is the absence of a belief in a god or gods. It is not the positive belief that there is no god. The worst part is that it is impossible to be an agnostic without also being an atheist. Agnosticism is the belief that the question of god's existence cannot be answered, either in principle, or with our current knowledge. And if you cannot decide the question, you are still without the belief, ergo, an atheist.