*Ø* Blogmanac | The future looks bright



Language can help to shape the way we think about the world. Richard Dawkins welcomes an attempt to raise consciousness about atheism by co-opting a word with cheerful associations


"I once read a science-fiction story in which astronauts voyaging to a distant star were waxing homesick: "Just to think that it's springtime back on Earth!" You may not immediately see what's wrong with that, so ingrained is our unconscious northern hemisphere chauvinism. "Unconscious" is exactly right. That is where consciousness-raising comes in.

"I suspect it is for a deeper reason than gimmicky fun that, in Australia and New Zealand, you can buy maps of the world with the south pole on top. Now, wouldn't that be an excellent thing to pin to our class-room walls? What a splendid consciousness-raiser. Day after day, the children would be reminded that north has no monopoly on up. The map would intrigue them as well as raise their consciousness. They'd go home and tell their parents.

"The feminists taught us about consciousness-raising. I used to laugh at 'him or her', and at 'chairperson', and I still try to avoid them on aesthetic grounds. But I recognise the power and importance of consciousness-raising. I now flinch at 'one man one vote'. My consciousness has been raised. Probably yours has too, and it matters."


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