Vam and Lee, Sorry for not replying for a few days. It's been in my mind to do so, but I've been a little unsure about how much would be appropriate to write. Some things are more personal than I'd care to share on a public forum. This is the abridged version, then...
My formative years were growing up under Thatcher's government here in Britain, which saw the absolute worst of unfettered capitalism, awful race riots, and the working classes marginalised. Greed and illiberalism was everywhere. The result of this was -- by around the age of 13 -- me becoming a card carrying Marxist. I was politically very switched on, very active. I read the obvious communist pamphlets and books, which was also supplemented by Thomas Jefferson, John Stuart Mill, and Frederich Nietzsche. An odd mix, I admit. From this period of my life I still retain many views. There have been two other great influences in my worldview. The first was discovering the literature of the beat generation, which happened around the age of 15. Kerouac and Burroughs in particular influenced my creative side; I found something in the rhythm and freedom of their prose and it inspired me to write. Kerouac's writing on Buddhism got me interested in spirituality. The second was an unexpected love of science triggered by a fantastic teacher at school and which was further fuelled by avidly reading National Geographic and the like. Darwin had always been interesting to me, but it was microbiology -- and, on a recommendation, Dawkins' Selfish Gene -- that really caught me. Somewhere, somehow, all of these things distilled into humanist worldview. Equality, love of the one life we have, morality based on shared human experience, and secularism all matter deeply to me. Hope that helps you to understand my perspective! Ian -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en.
