Name: Brian Bolton.
Where I live: Georgetown, Texas.
Where and when I was born: Evanston, Ill., 1939.
Education: Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1968.
Occupation: Retired rehabilitation psychologist, conducted government-sponsored research and scholarship for 35 years, author-editor of multiple books, articles and test reviews in the field.
How I got where I am today: Beneficiary of strong genes, dedicated parents, modern public health and outstanding schools — in other words, advantage, opportunity and luck — black belt in karate, humanist minister and Distinguished Toastmaster [the group’s highest speaker award].
Where I’m headed: The same terminal condition as all sentient life forms — eternal nonexistence or everlasting nothingness.
Person in history I admire: Thomas Jefferson, a brilliant statesman and intellectual whose numerous accomplishments helped establish the robust government under which we thrive today.
A quotation I like: “Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause.” (George Washington, 1792 letter to Edward Newenham)
These are a few of my favorite things: Supporting animal welfare and environmental protection, reading philosophy and science, writing freethought articles, and raising African leopard tortoises.
These are not: FOX News, religious fundamentalism, sports evangelism, conservative politics.
How long I’ve been a freethinker: All my life.
Why I’m a freethinker: Even though I attended Sunday school as a child, my soul was never captured. My transition from indifferent unbeliever to outspoken nontheist was brought about by Falwell, LaHaye and Swaggart.
Best way I promote freethought: By complaining about religious violations in local schools and government, voting in elections and writing letters and op-ed pieces for the local newspaper. Past president of Northwest Arkansas ACLU.
