The title of this blog is a play on words stemming from the somewhat archaic “Read More…” device used in editorial and a metaphor for our human obsession with mortality.

The Jump = Death /’deth/
noun: a permanent cessation of all vital functions : the end of life.

What Doesn’t Happen After = Anything to do with an “afterlife”. So make it count right now, while you can.

Why It’s Okay = There is enough meaning, love, beauty, wonder, etc., here on earth, during your lifetime if you’d only just focus energies on now rather than on what you hope might happen later.

Commonwealtheism = The belief, informed and enlightened by atheism, that the human experience is as powerful and fulfilling as any theism. It’s like Humanism, but edgier.

The following will be an ever-edited and updated manifesto of my current position on the probable non-existence of a higher power.

Before I even attempt to write something remotely literate on the subject, no one has said it better for me than that big, vulgar ass, Penn Jillette on NPR’s This I Believe.

It seems so obvious to me that long ago, some humans realized how fucking scary it was once they figured out that life ends. You mean, I don’t get to hit things with large bones anymore? I can’t drag my wife around by the hair? WTF?

Wait, I know! Maybe afterwards some essence of me can go to a nice place and spend time with other nice people I find charming and attractive. You know the more I think about it, I bet there’s some big dude who runs the whole show. Maybe he even decides which of us get to hang out in the VIP room and which ones get stuck out at the rope line.

That’s all fear-based mythology. Here’s a thought: Why don’t we just make more out of the time we have here on earth? Why don’t we love each other more? Do less harm to one another. Stop worrying so much about pleasing Beardy McCloudypants and put more effort into our amazing existence.

Or how about this: Let’s take all the energy spent on going to church, praying, confessing and genuflecting and all the money donated to religious organizations, and put it all towards the scientific research of extending life expectancies. If we’re all so damn scared of death, lets put some ass behind living to 200. There are some smart people who think we’ll eventually get there.

I’ve said this for years (ask my wife): I’ll bet if I could have full access to all information in the world right now (classified, historical, etc.), I would find more hard evidence of alien life than god. But if you say you believe in spaceships, you’re a weirdo. If you believe you’ll be whisked away to join your relatives up in the sky, you’re a Christian.

To be continued…