Valentine, one of the staff members, gave a powerful speech about ”alienated birthrights” – things that all human beings should be capable of engaging in and enjoying, but which have been taken from people because they have internalized beliefs and identities that say things like ”I cannot do that” or ”I am bad at that”. Things like singing, dancing, athletics, mathematics, romantic relationships, actually understanding the world, heroism, tackling challenging problems. To use his analogy, we might not be good at these things at first, and may have to grow into them and master them the way that a toddler grows to master her body. And like a toddler who’s taking her early steps, we may flail around and look silly when we first start doing them, but these are capacities that – barring any actual disabilities – are a part of our birthright as human beings, which anyone can ultimately learn to master.

This sort of attitude, of being open about shortcomings and not judging people for them, is one of the biggest reasons I'm drawn to rational culture. I feel like writing is one of my ABs, so don't be surprised if I figuratively flail around like a toddler at some points while I'm here, but I want to get better at it, and I know I can. I'll probably write a proper welcome post sometime soon, but I'm kinda intimidated by it, and I don't really know what to say, but I thought I might as well post this as a start.