What I Believe In

[vorel_laraek]

I believe that life - all life - has value.

I believe in that freedom of choice is vitally important.

I believe that as long as you don't harm anyone else, you should be able to do whatever you want with your life.

I believe that the vast majority of people are idiots.

I believe that more damage is done by ignorance than malice, and that people have the capacity to do better.

I believe that there is no god.

I believe that there is no necessity for a supernatural deity.

I believe that humans can live life well here on earth, without looking to any afterlife as a reward or a punishment.

I believe that moral choices that we make because we believe them to be right mean infinitely more than moral choices made because we believe that some deity would be pleased by them.

I believe that though we do not understand everything about how our universe works, we can and will find the answers through science.

I believe that the supernatural is purely the realm of fiction, and that to look for supernatural answers for real questions is lazy thinking and closes questions that should be open.

I believe that organized religion can and does serve as a moral center and a source of hope for some people, and that as much good has been done in its name as evil.

I believe that we forge our own futures, and that we do not need to rely on destiny or fate.

I believe that aliens are out there somewhere, simply because the universe is too large for us to be the only intelligent life around.

I believe that aliens - if we ever actually meet them or establish communication, which is rather unlikely at the moment - will look nothing like anything on Star Trek.

I believe that the world tends to run on power - who has it, and who does not.

I believe that it is the responsibility of those with power to temper it with compassion.

I believe that addiction should be a medical issue, not a criminal one.

I believe that confidence is paramount in nearly every activity from driving to social interaction, because it covers a lack of skill and enhances what skill you have.

I believe that confidence is different from arrogance. Confidence is the ability to keep going if you make a mistake, to be willing to put yourself out there, and to believe that you're capable of doing well. Arrogance is the inability to admit that you can make mistakes.

I believe that there are no set rules for social interaction, for life, or for relationships. There are guidelines, but in the end everyone's muddling through.

I believe that despite the lack of set rules, communication, confidence, and compassion cover quite a lot.

I believe that education is essential for everyone, because we can only make our choices based on what we know.

I believe that the world can be wonderful as well as terrible, and that it never pays to assume everything to be awful.

I believe that there is a difference between optimism and naivete.

I believe that although not all people are equal, it is essential to treat them as if they are.

I believe that the only way to measure a person's value is on an individual level, on terms of competence and personality, and that things like sexuality, gender, and race should not affect that measurement.

I believe that though death is awful and irreversible and should never be chosen easily or lightly, sometimes it is necessary. I believe that this applies to the death penalty, to abortion, and even to suicide, in the right circumstances.

I believe that as long as all participants are consenting adults and all reasonable precautions are taken (condoms, safewords, etc.), people should be able to take pleasure in whatever they like.

I believe that sexuality and gender identity are far more complex than a simple binary, and that people should be able to be themselves, whoever that may be.

I believe that love is far too valuable to take issue with the forms that it takes.

I believe that love is knowing another person wholly, warts and all, and accepting every part of them.

I believe that nobody is destined to have just one partner or one person to love - if your perfect match is one in a million, then logically several thousand people exist who you could be happy with.

I believe that love is beautiful even if it isn't perfect, and perhaps because it isn't perfect.

I believe that love is something that people build together over time.

I believe that love isn't always easy, nor is it always enough on its own.

I believe that there is more than one kind of love, and that not all of those kinds are sexual.

I believe that forgiveness is deciding that the other person matters more to you than your pain at being wronged.

I believe that nothing is completely original, because everything builds on what came before it.

I believe that though the world can be terrible and life can suck sometimes, a good book, good music, and a good friend make up for quite a lot.

I believe that good communication is infinitely valuable in all areas of life.

I believe that although everyone is different, in the ways that matter we are all the same.

I believe that life is empty without something to believe in, whatever that may be.

I believe.