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There is a new meme in the memepool and it's a good one. The future is Bright.

There is a distinct lack of a good, simple and positive label to give to all those people who look on life without the curse of belief in supernatural forces. The usual terms we are familiar with have become bogged down with debates over definition and have become associated with negative ideas. Atheism, agnosticism, secular humanism and rationalism have all taken hits and have become to some degree a liability. None of the labels has what it takes to win over new converts. But there is a new label, a new self identity that we can use. We can be Brights.

The term was coined by Paul Geisert and Mynga Futrell.

The word is simply a borrowed word. It isn't an acronym of anything (please don't try to make it into one), it isn't an allusion to some mythical or fictional character, it hasn't got any baggage at all. That is the point. It is simply a nice bright word. We can make it mean what we want it to mean. Just like the word gay. Please note that we are not trying to hijack the word or deprive it of its original meaning. Far from it. The original meaning is the reason to choose the word. It is an adjective, but now we are using it as a noun. We are not telling the world we are bright, we are saying we call ourselves Brights. Using a capital letter might help the cause, also using it in the plural form whenever possible also helps, adjectives can't be plural, it shows the word must have a new meaning if it now can take a plural.

Being a bright means you do not take a supernatural view on reality. It is very simple. It isn't a religion or a faith position, being a bright requires no faith. It is a reasonable answer to the question  what is your religion?” I don't have a religion, thank you, I'm a Bright.

Not just an atheist, an atheist is just somebody who doesn't believe in God, they could have lots of other different irrational supernatural beliefs. It goes beyond atheism and it is more positive and unambiguous than the term rationalism. It means what we want it to mean, it is our word, our word for us. Just like the word gay means what the gay people say it means, it is their label, it is what they chose to call themselves, they own the label and they can wear it with pride. We are not taking away the original meaning of the word, we are just using it in a different way.

It is a word without a natural opposite. You are either bright or you are not. It is not for us to call the religious dim or dull or straight: they are not straight, not normal, just not bright. You could say that the opposite of bright is religious, but it isn't really a useful thought. Being bright isn't something that needs an opposite, just like Thursday doesn't need an opposite.

Richard Dawkins The future looks bright

The Brights

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