I've heard from Gerardo, a reader in Costa Rica, which he describes as "the most beautiful land in the world, a tropical paradise with no army and sometimes, no shame either." He writes:

[I'm] an aspiring critical thinker from Costa Rica... As one of the last confessional estates in the Western hemisphere, the Nation of Costa Rica is Catholic, Apostolic and Roman. We are a state (funny, don't you think?) that worships hundreds of lesser gods commonly known as saints, a virgin, a ghost, a resurrected crucified man and a misogynist god  Many people are very proud of this, but there are always a few dissenters.

We are trying to fix that national error.

I'm a regular reader of Swift, it's cathartic for me, and I believe that the following news could be interesting for your organization. On September 4th, the Movement for a Secular State in Costa Rica organization (Movimiento por un Estado Laico) obtained enough support in our Congress to present a amendment to our Constitution.

We are contacting all Secular Humanists and freethinker organizations. We want the world to know about the Project, about our fight against intolerance and obscurantism, about our hope for separation of church and state in Costa Rica. I hope that you can publish a brief quote on your site about us; your support and network contacts to spread the word will be very much appreciated and valuable.

Best regards from the Middle Ages.

Gerardo - an aspiring critical thinker celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Moonwalking - the real one, 150 years of "Origin of the Species," and the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth.

This is the kind of person for whom SWIFT - and the JREF - were designed and created. We have managed to reach out and contact people around the world who need a bit of encouragement and support in their stance as rational human beings. Often the social pressures are difficult to handle, and just knowing that there are so many others out there who are similarly embracing reality and reason, can work wonders.

Hey, that's our job, working wonders. Welcome aboard, Gerardo...!