God damn it, you’ve got to be kind

Dale McGowan's last blogathon post, inspired by Bertrand Russell and  Kurt Vonnegut (that's his imperative instruction to "babies" in God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater), merits special attention on Fathers' Day.

"Nonreligious folks are not unkind. Many are the gentlest and kindest people I know. But as a movement, we too seldom recognize the importance of talking once in a while about human emotional needs — until those moments when we are feeling “the opposite of triumphant” and find ourselves, as individuals, hoping for a kind word or thought or deed.

As a parent, I find myself more upset by the unkindnesses my children do — especially to each other — than by any fuzziness of thought. And I find it harder to forgive my own lapses in the former than in the latter."

The Meming of Life Parenting Beyond Belief on secular parenting and other natural wonders