The American Humanist Association has declared the first Thursday of May to be a National Day of Reason.  That’s today!  It’s the Humanist answer to the National Day of Prayer.  They are trying to get it recognized by the Federal Government and you can sign their petition if you so choose.  The idea behind the National Day of Reason is to get people to recognize that good works are not tied to faith and is meant to include all Americans in a way that the National Day of Prayer does not.

This year, the National Day of Reason has some Congresscritter support.  My favorite non-voting member of Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and Michael Honda (D-CA) have issued statements praising the National Day of Reason.  So yeah, not so much support.  Yet.

To celebrate National Day of Reason, I think it’s important to list a few “controversial” but true statements.

• Vaccines save millions more lives than they harm and they are most effective when the entire population is vaccinated.  To rail against vaccines is to put our most vulnerable in danger.
• Evolution does not have all of the answers, but it is the only theory that is based on rigorous scientific study.  It explains what we’ve seen and it has predicted what we’ve discovered.  To actively disbelieve evolution is to be willfully ignorant of how science works.
• Homeopathy is a scam that feeds on the fears of people looking for an easy cure.  To take homeopathic medicine is to drink tap water.  Literally.
• Critical thinking skills are the most important skills to have if your goal is to make reality based decisions.
• Being able to check your cognitive biases is the penultimate skill to have to make sure your critical thinking is sound.

Spread the Reason!