Mouth - Closed or Open?

In the shelters there was a saying "a closed mouth never gets fed." The saying applies to many needs, in a sane society. The problem is that society is far from sane. This leads to the bigger problem, how does one define sanity?

A psychologist will define sanity as being a state where you are capable of rational thought. A psychiatrist will define sanity was whatever they want it to be. A medical doctor will call whatever they can charge the most for as being sane. Religious people though, they define sanity as agreeing with what they say. So far, only the psychologist has a viable, and logical, definition of the word.

So rational thought is what defines a sane society, however, most societies are incapable of rational thought. Let's look specifically at one of the least sane societies in the world, the society in the United States of America. In this society a majority of people still believe that the theory of evolution is some made up story, while asserting that their myths of creation are fact. There are many reasons this, on it's own, makes the society insane.

Another point in this is that the society in the USA cannot understand that biological organisms, what humans are, cannot be "normal" by any definition of the word, even medically. No aspect of life, as a whole, can not in any way be limited to anything resembling a "normal." Typical, or even average, can and does exist for life, but no definition of "normal" can be applied to anything alive. This particular point is one of the most common insanities in the human species.

There are finer points, and many of those, we could get into, but then we'll stray too far from this topic. The end result is that society is often less sane than the individuals making it up. It also results in the majority often being less sane than any minority group within said society. This is precisely why the USA is not purely a Democracy, mob rule or anarchy is not a viable method of governing the populace. However, the problem is that when the majority of those in power are as insane as the society, that insanity is fueled, never corrected.

So then the responsibility for helping to correct the insanity of society falls onto the minority groups, like LGBTI and atheists. However, our voices are small. So we must keep yelling and screaming to get even a small improvement in this society. Thus, our mouths must remain open at all times, we cannot be silent for even on minute of the day, lest people forget to listen to us.

But how can I know that we are more sane than the rest of society? Being a minority in any society is more difficult than going with the flow, we have to rationalize our every thought, running those thoughts through a gambit of "what if" and "should I" scenarios. The result is that our thoughts are based not on emotions, not on what some hoodoo holy man tells us, they are based on solid information, logic, and rational ideas. It's being in the minority that forces us to do that.

But what if the minority group becomes the majority group? Well then we have to question not only others in that group, but ourselves. This is why the majority, at this time, is insane. They do not question each other, and often refuse to even allow their ideas to be challenged by anyone. This is not rational. So even in such a case, some groups will remain rational as the majority, atheists are a prime example of this.

Now I must elaborate on that particular point, lest I get incoherent screams from people with no more logic than one's opinion on what to wear for that day. As a rule, atheists must challenge everything, even our own perceptions. This rule is inherent with being a skeptic or any form of doubt, and that's the one common trait of all atheists, we have doubts. We doubt everything, even what science has discovered. We question everyone, even our own perceptions of reality. We cannot be content with any answer either, if a better one comes along that is support by solid logic and verifiable information we will change our minds.

The problem is that there are many posers, though some are unwitting. They will jump onto a bandwagon that opposes the majority, or better, the bandwagon that opposes authority. They will cling to this label, as if being a minority group gives them some power or strength, of course that is until the guns are aimed at them, then they run off scared. But being an atheist does not mean we oppose authority, nor that we oppose all majorities, it simply means we do not believe in any gods, and by-proxy we do not believe in anything without verifiable evidence.

So the next time you see a minority group talking, try to pay attention, to listen to what is said. It's more likely they are the sane ones, and the majority are not sane.