John De Lancie: Openly Secular
"Mostly what I was struck with, the whole notion of being religious, was that I felt manipulated. And I don't know why I picked that up at eight years old. But I did." JDL
This video clip of John De Lancie has been a big inspiration for me for a few years now. I admired him because of his confidence in himself which was something I lacked and still lack for the most part. Being authentic matters to him. Being authentic matters to me, I just struggle with expressing it like JDL.
The first time I was aware of John De Lancie was when he played a character by the name of Eugene on Days of our Lives. When he resurfaced on my radar during his time on Star Trek: The Next Generation, I was even more amazed at his confident acting ability. I figure it takes a secular actor to pull off an omnipotent character like Q with a comedic ironic twist.
One of my favourite scenes from the show, is a scene where he takes Picard back into Earth's past, three and half billion years. I figure only someone "openly secular" can pull off this scene.
Earth 3.5 Billion Years ago (Star Trek TNG final Season 7)
Most creationists would have a hard time imagining humanity emerging from a "goo" pit, (dirt maybe, but not "goo") but it's humbling to imagine it. I think it is strangely honourable to imagine that some molecules in me can be traced back to the Big Bang. That goes back farther than the "goo" pit. That little tidbit is what connects me to the cosmos and how I can confidently say that I don't feel alone in the Universe without a "God" expression in my life. I am part of a bigger whole. How can I feel alone?
John De Lancie ends this clip with a goal and a hope. It sums up what I hope to do in my world, and hope to see done in return.
"As somebody who is secular, I will fight for the person who's religious to be religious. But I would like the people who are religious to fight for me to be secular." JDL
Day 4: 2022 - "May God die in all of us one day."
Day 4: 2023 - "In the valley is where you will find the Poet."
