Lately I’ve been listening to the archived episodes of the Skepticality podcast. A few weeks back I heard a good quip, one that I’ve been thinking a lot about in the meantime. Unfortunately I’ve managed to forget not only the exact quote, but also the guest who quoted it as well.

Leaning hard on my poor old memory, I’ve narrowed it down to either Michael Shermer, director of the Skeptic’s Society, or Phil Plait, president of the James Randi Educational Foundation and good astronomer. Maybe.

Still, it went a bit like this… It’s okay to preach to the choir, but every once and a while you’ve got to get out there and SING!

Many of us freethinkers (and I’m not exempting myself from this by any means) spend an awful lot of time getting together in meetups, blogs, or forums and talking about how we feel. We’re fed up. We want change. We’re disappointed, frustrated, and even angry. We have a bit of a reputation, deserved or no, of being grumpy, and of always talking about how damned grumpy we are. Of course, the atheists and freethinkers I know are not particularly grumpy or angry, at least not more or less than anyone else. Some of us are pretty friendly and sometimes even, I hate to admit it…downright perky. But when religion begins to step on civil rights or muck about in politics or insinuate itself into our educational curriculum, well, then we do get angry. And, since these things happen pretty frequently, we get grumpy pretty frequently, and we have a whole lot to say about it.

But at some point we have got to get beyond just talking – or grousing – and get out there and DO something!

Are you worried about creationism sneaking into the school science curriculum? Donate some science materials to your school, volunteer as an aid, offer to come in to show-and-tell with your telescope, give a lecture on the scientific method, or, if you can, run for your local school board.

Are you tired of being misrepresented in the news or in TV programs which are entirely one-sided in favor of a religious point of view? Write letters to the editor or producer, get your local meetup group to send a mass of letters, write opinion pieces for local papers or newsletters, or make story suggestions to local news personalities.

Do you have a skill or talent that might help? Write a blog, a song, a book , or an article; create a podcast, a short movie, or an online video; craft an atheist comedy routine and go to open mic night; become a motivational speaker and quest speak on a podcast or news program, if that’s how you roll!

If you don’t have the time to begin a project on your own, see how you can help someone else; offer your talents or at least your assistance to a local atheist or skeptic organization. And of course, never, ever cease writing to your local government representatives – remind them that you exist and that you vote.

There are unlimited ways that you and I can get involved. Even if you don’t have a lot of time, the occasional letter or donation can go a long way. To find out more, or for many, many other great ideas, visit some of our favorite secular and skeptical sources of information like those listed on the main page of this site; find out where you might best be able to help. And, of course, also take a peek at the inspiration for this piece, Daniel Loxton’s “What Do I Do Next?”.

It’s fine to keep on preaching to the choir – we love to hear from you, and we all need to vent from time to time – but, now what are you going to do about it?

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Tags | activism, atheism, freethought