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Diary Archive 2002
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December 5, 2002 My heroes are not idols. I have learned through the maturation process that faces us all, whether we attend to it or not, that idol worship is akin to fanaticism. When we place a person, a group, or an ideology onto a pedestal and call it holy, sacred and perfect, we close our minds to reason. I learned that Donny Osmond wasn't perfect and it didn't kill me (now you know my age). It didn't kill me because long before I'd learned that no one is perfect, no group is beyond reproach and no ideology is above criticism. One of my heroes today is Ellen Johnson. Ms. Johnson is a savvy, attractive, personable woman and the president of American Atheists. She is strong and willful. She speaks her mind and doesn't hide. I admire and respect her. But I do not worship her and I know well that she is not perfect. Nor does she completely represent my viewpoint. I once heard her called, "your leader." The person who said that isn't clear on the diversity of the atheist population, through no fault of her own. Ellen Johnson is not my leader, nor is she the leader of the atheist community. She is the president of an organization of some atheists and while I am a contributing member of American Atheists, I do not consider Ms. Johnson "my leader." She is certainly not my idol. American Atheists is only one organization: a vital one. But it is not perfect, either. Something often happens to minority groups who form bonds for the purpose of fighting off oppression. They perceive the threat as so vicious that they elevate their own "rightness;" they develop a blind-obedience mentality and anyone who dares criticize their group is ostracized. This recently happened to me when I questioned the role of American Atheists in our battle for respect and political power. It isn't that I perceived any evil intent, mismanagement or wrong direction with AA. I simply wondered if that organization had upheld the type of attitude that I, myself, would consider appropriate in this venture. I simply queried, wondered, pondered the possibilities and I was attacked by a loyalist who believed that AA was above reproach. "After all AA has done for you," was the refrain, "how dare you criticize." Sadly, that is the same type of language I hear from fundamentalist Christians regarding my boldness in criticizing their god and theology. I hold nothing sacred; nothing is beyond inspection, question and reproach. Nothing. Once a person, idea, book or religion is considered sacred, we lose our power of reason. I will not give up my reason, neither to a religious dogma nor to a good cause. I am, and will most likely always be, a
member of American Atheists. While I don't know if the loyalist mentality
infects the whole or that single member, I feel at home with their attitude, their
goals, their reasoning, as well as their sense of humor (if it be appropriate to
claim such in an organization). I will not be cowed by anyone's blind obedience;
I will not refrain from exercising my rights to question; I will hold no one and
no thing up as god. I will have no idols. November 5, 2002 On Saturday, November 2, I joined about 2000 atheists, rationalists, Humanists and freethinkers in front of the Capitol building in Washington D.C. Our rally was part entertainment, part call to activism and part rant. Something for everyone. I wasn't eager to travel alone from my sheltered life in Florida to the nation's capital, but I was compelled to do so. I didn't imagine I would carry a sign, chant or sing. It was necessary only that my body be there to swell the count. I didn't imagine it would be the empowering, motivating, enriching experience that it turned out to be--both as an individual and as an atheist. As an individual, simply succeeding in maneuvering through airports and the Metro taught me that I am capable and fit--traveling alone to the National Mall on Sunday after the march, wandering the museums and lunching alone was gratifying and has greatly enhanced my sense of independence and ability to conquer challenges in this world. As an atheist, I have learned the most valuable of lessons: I am not alone. The Hilton Garden Inn at Courthouse Plaza was filled with atheists. Everywhere I looked, a friendly face and a freethought t-shirt or button greeted me. We were little slices of a big pie, happy to be in the same pan...hehehe. Young atheists rode the elevators, playing elevator tag to entertain themselves while adult atheists gathered in the lobby on Friday evening, November 1, getting to know their fellow marchers. Other hotels in the area were also populated with atheists, hopefully experiencing the same camaraderie. At the Hilton we had a feast for perhaps one hundred, those willing to shell out the thirty bucks. We were treated to an introduction by Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists and organizer of the march. The next morning, as I made my way from the underground Smithsonian Metro stop, a woman a step above me on the escalator, realizing from the signs some carried that we were organized, turned to me and asked, "What are you here for?" "The Godless Americans March on Washington," I said. "You're in the company of atheists, Ma'am." She wanted to know what we were marching for. "Separation of church and state," I said. "Aren't church and state separate?" she asked. "No, they're not," I told her, to which the Internet Infidel ahead of us turned and said, "You're living in a pseudo-theocracy." Saturday was chilly and windy. I walked toward a small group of people gathered at 14th St. As I neared, the gathering grew larger and larger until I found myself immersed in huge crowd. I traveled around snapping pictures of the signs and banners. Falwell = Taliban. Do Adults Really Need an Imaginary Friend? Atheist Doesn't Equal Un-American. One Nation, Under the Constitution. God is a Lie. Their Religion, Our Money, No Way. I made rather a fool of myself at the Internet Infidels banner when one of the men there gave me his name and I still asked for his screen name at II, not realizing until after I'd asked that his name and his screen name were identical. Ah, well, we all have to act like fawning fans at some point in our lives, I suppose. The Council for Secular Humanism had a banner as did many local groups. I marched with a new-found friend, Pamela. We started heading toward the front of the crowd, wondering when the marching would begin and what that huge white banner ahead of us said. When we reached the white banner, we realized it was the head of the march, and I heard Ellen Johnson say, "Okay, let's go." We were off. I was given a sign to carry (One Nation Under the Constitution) and was grateful to do so. Along the march we met just a few counter-demonstrators with signs imploring us to accept the love of Jesus into our hearts: Fear God. Only Jesus Can Save Me From Hell. I gave them all my practiced Princess Wave and took their pictures. A few Jews quietly and respectfully held a banner naming their organization. Once at the staging area, we turned and saw the long train of marchers behind us. It seemed to take ages for them all to reach the rally site. I was psyched! Amazed! Grateful to all who participated. There were thousands of us. Just how big are the phone booths in your town, Mr. Falwell? And then it began. Let me say that I didn't agree with everything said, with every sentiment. But that isn't what it was all about. It wasn't about supporting only people who think exactly like I do--that would leave me in very small company, indeed. It also wasn't about supporting personalities that I like. It was about unity despite differences. So, while there were some things said that I didn't care for, much of what was said I could stand behind completely. Ellen Johnson said, "All Americans are godless Americans...because there is no god." I appreciate her willingness to, desire to and correctness in making that claim but it is true that many atheists and agnostics would not care to do so. We don't all make a positive "no gods" claim. Most of us simply don't believe the stories. Nonetheless, the strong atheist in me applauded. Michael Newdow spoke about why he believed that atheism should allow itself to be called a religion. He seemed to think that we could receive the special status that religions receive in doing so. I don't agree. I don't happen to do things that I know are wrong simply because other people are doing them. Atheism is not a religion. And religions should not receive special status. We can't create a secular government for a free population by joining the ranks of the religious. Early in the rally, the Christian demonstrators realized the backdrop of the stage was the Capitol building. They hauled their heavy-duty, pole-mounted and thus very tall banners behind the stage so that their messages would be displayed to the C-Span viewers (when and if C-Span ever televises their taping of the event). Those sly Christians! Just behind me was a group of black-garbed young atheists who took on the responsibility of countering this despicable turn. Alas, their handheld signs weren't tall enough to block the Christian's. No problem--one of them got up on stage and erected a banner that read "Atheists Bless America" behind the speaker's podium and the Christians were forced to resume their side positions and resort to heckling instead. As the program continued, several atheists gravitated toward the sidelines to do battle with the Christians. During lapses their voices could be heard sometimes forceful but for the most part friendly. There were no incidents of violence, though one sign told us we were filthy and I expected the carrier to be, at least, impolite. At one point, Pastor Deacon Fred (Chris Harper) of Landover Baptist Church, gave us quite a tongue-lashing sermon which drove one of the Christians to get on his bullhorn and begin informing us that we should all be ashamed of ourselves. Fundamentalists aren't well-known for their senses of humor. He shut up pretty quick. I assumed one of our people asked him to please show some consideration for our speakers. Later I learned that the police made him stop disrupting our demonstration. But he was there at the end, letting us know how stupid and shameful we were. I gave him one of my Princess Waves too. The rally went on for about four hours--there was secular music from Overlord and Gerry Dantone from Universal Dice; Frank Zindler gave us a talk about the disdain the general populace has for science. We heard about Camp Quest for atheist kids and much news from some individual organizations. When the transcripts of the entire program are available, I'll link to them on the home page. I stayed to the wonderful end and then dispersed quietly with the rest. Paralleling me, across the lawn, walked a man, with a sign, shouting at me, telling me I would die one day and have to explain this life. I smiled at him and shook my head. I just don't believe your story...and I find it rather pitiful that most people do. Frank Zindler links
It's hard to believe, but it's true--some people really don't understand what is wrong with merging state and religion. I was talking with the owner of a few private schools who claimed that talking about God is okay, even in public schools, because it's innocuous. The word God, apparently, can apply to anyone's faith. "But what about people with no faith," I asked. "Well," she said with a smile. "You hardly ever run into someone like that." I don't get it...because you hardly ever run into someone brave enough to admit to having no faith in gods, it's okay to pretend they aren't there? Worse, the man sitting with us shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't understand why they have to be separate, I mean, there's nothing wrong with it." "I don't agree," I said. "Because I'm not religious." There's never anything wrong with it for the people it benefits. Why can't they step out of their skin long enough to look around and see that this country is made up of more than just people like themselves? They must either admit to not caring, or admit to thinking everyone else is wrong. What are we going to do in this great country? Will we truly forget E Pluribus Unum? Can Christians really pretend that E Pluribus Unum means to exclude anyone--anyone at all? I know that part of the problem is that Christians seem to think that atheists want to censor or ban religious belief and practice. I don't know what can be done about this fear, but I think the Godless Americans March on Washington is a good enough place to start. We must stand up and speak out. We must stop hiding. We must help those who believe to see that we only want to be free to not believe and we want the government to maintain a secular position so that all people in this country will be represented by it. With Under God in our pledge of loyalty and In God We Trust in public buildings, this country sends the message that only people who believe in gods are welcome here. What will it be next? Only people who believe in the Christian god? And then, only those who adhere to certain Christian doctrine? How far are we from our own Taliban? Yes, it's hard to believe, but it's true--some people really just don't get it.
I feel very lost these days; I simply don't understand people. I seem to understand myself well enough...and there are some people around that make sense to me. But the vast majority are an enigma. I don't understand what it must be like to be in their skin--they frighten me. How is it, for example, that Republicans can despise Democrats so vilely that they will try to do things to them that, if the Democrats tried them against the Republicans, would make them scream foul? And vice-versa, I assume, though, as a recent Republican they're the ones I'm scrutinizing just now. For instance, the Republicans were all for special status for the President--he couldn't be sued in office, his private sex and/or financial life was taboo, etc., until Clinton won the presidency (by the way, when Clinton won, Republicans claimed he "stole" the office). Once Clinton was in office, all bets were off and all of the sudden new rules were being written to allow for investigations into his personal and financial dealings. And what's really odd is that all this really negative, despicable, campaigning and attacking of public officials seemed to arise during the Reagan era when the Religious Right took control of the Republican party. Things have been going viciously downhill from there. For the record, I'm not a Democrat--not even "in my heart." How is it that Republicans and Democrats can write letters to the editor in which they completely vilify their opposition when it's so clear to those of us in the middle (or on the outside) that both sides are blinded by rage, ignorance and hypocrisy? What is it like to be so completely sure your way is the right way and the other guy is evil incarnate? And how is it that people can hate an entire group of people--a group of them? How do you hate a group? I know there are a lot of Christians who hate atheists--I mean really despise them. They say such horrible things about us that it hurts. And I know there are a lot of Christians who hate homosexuals, too. Sometimes some of the things I hear televangelists say make me ill. I hope most Christians aren't like that. Most of those I've met personally aren't...at least I'm not aware of it if they are. But then, I've only been coming out slowly (about my atheism, silly). I just recently put a Darwin fish on my bumper. You know, I can't say I really like the symbol--it might be saying things that I don't mean for it to say. But, on the other hand, it is a code symbol. It tells others like me that I am one of them--much like the Christian fish symbol does for Christians. What it doesn't say is that I worship Darwin (I don't worship anyone or anything, thank you). And it doesn't say I hate Christians (I don't hate anybody...at all). It's supposed to say, simply, that I am not religious--I have no religion. I'm hoping that my most recent letter to the editor is printed in the paper (you can read it on the Letters page). If it is printed, I'm totally "out" in my community. Earlier letters only suggested I was with the group I was defending. This time, I came right out and said so: I'm an atheist. I can't say what reaction I will receive...naturally, but I'm hopeful that all the things people tell me about Christians is really true--that it's only that small minority who hate me without knowing me--that the majority will not let my lack of belief in their god interfere with their feelings or thoughts about me. I hope that's true. And I hope that one day, I'll figure people out.
Sometimes it's hard to remember that we are all subject to biases, prejudices, and quirks of personality that make us rather irritating to others. It's too easy to label one sort of person or group of people as intolerant and then expect others (perhaps those that think more along the lines we do) to be the opposite. But, a recent meeting highlighted this problem for me and reminds me to keep ever vigilant in my thoughts about fellow humans. I am, I'm happy to report, finding more people who think along the lines I do, find my atheism irrelevant, even intriguing, and people who are willing to have me in a circle of friends. This didn't just happen; I made it happen. I forced myself to step out of my cave and search for like-minded folk. From what I could tell, in examining the county I live in, I was surrounded by Christianity, mostly of its fundamentalist (read bigoted and intolerant) version. Imagine my surprise to find that there are others who think like I do, and others who think spiritually, but not dogmatically. At a recent get-together, one of my new acquaintances pointed out her husband to me and told me I should introduce myself to him as her atheist friend. She said we would hit it off. Well, I bounced myself over and did just that. In the following several minutes it was related to me, by him, that I believed there was nothing and that was plain wrong; that it was somehow a bad thing that my children "heard it from their mom" that there is no god; that I tell my children there is nothing; and, strangest of all, that I was not, in actuality, a true atheist. He called me to question on the fact that the first thing out of my mouth when I introduced myself was that I was an atheist. Luckily, his wife was there to let him know that I did that upon her request. There was nothing inherently unlikable about the man. He was handsome, well-mannered and his touch of snobbery might be considered attractive by some, even by myself had I not been the brunt of his assault that day. My point is that he is not a bad person; he's a very good one. I could tell he was a wonderful husband and father. But, like so many people, he is encapsulated in his own viewpoint, wearing blinders that won't let him see outside the box. This opinion would, no doubt, come as a complete shock to him. He would proclaim that his philosophy of the mysterious "It" is outside the box of traditional religiosity--he is a free thinker, he might say. And yet, there he sat with his cognitive dissonance bleeding out his mouth at virtually every turn. On the one hand, all these people and churches who proclaim to speak for the mysterious "It" are false. On the other, he proclaimed that the mysterious "It" would tell us all to be nice to one another. On the one hand, he's a free thinker, open to the wondrous vastness of possibilities and on the other, he is adamant that I am a god to an ant. He could not step outside his own box to hear my attempts to explain that his view of me was wrong, I don't think the things he accused me of thinking. It's not that I am not what I say I am--it's that he doesn't properly understand what I say I am. I can only hope that my vigilance in understanding those I meet will carry over to observation of my own character, to purging myself of these very faults I find so abusive in others.
Margaret Mitchell once wrote to a friend, "In a moment of weakness, I have written a book." My thoughts exactly Oh Great One. (Please, no letters claiming I worship MM.) I have finished writing a book that I never really thought I'd write. I'm a fiction writer--I like the human psyche, bizarre, moody, unfathomable. I like dark tales of disturbed people. The general weirdness of the human species interests me. I have never considered myself a writer of non-fiction but strangely enough, the first book I completed in life is non-fiction. Granted, it's no academic treatise, no philosophical justification, no investigative insight into atheism. It's just me...what I think, what I've heard, what I want to say. Writing it was selfish, as perhaps all manner of artistic pursuit is. I had something to say and I want to be heard. I wonder if everyone feels that way sometimes. I wanted to say to Christians that they are wrong about atheism and atheists. They don't have their facts straight--we are not what they keep saying we are. And I wanted to tell them why I don't believe what they believe so they could see for themselves that it's really just a matter of simple non-belief. It has nothing to do with anger at god, hatred of god, or my wanting to live an immoral life. I just don't believe the story, that's all. And I wanted to explain to Christians exactly what I really think about Christianity--it's immoral and untrue. So, I broke down and wrote a book: Diary of an Atheist: A Guidebook for Believers. Maybe one day you will read it. *Sept. 23--For the record, I changed the focus of my book (yep, rewrote the whole thing!) and retitled it: Godless, Heathen, Heretic, Infidel: Christ! I'm an Atheist
Our national motto is, apparently, "In God We Trust." Many people are under the delusion that it's "E Pluribus Unum," meaning "Out of Many, One." And certainly our original motto was indeed E Pluribus Unum. It was offered as such by our great Founding Fathers Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and signified the unity of the original colonies. But it came to represent our diverse population united as one nation, struggling together toward a common goal, namely, freedom. But in the 1950's everything changed. Our leaders stifled our heritage of unity and began to infuse into our government their own theology during an era of zealous religious paranoia and flag waving--not at all unlike our situation today. Christians like to pretend and assert that our nation was founded on Christian and Biblical principles and yet, it wasn't until 1863 that a group of Protestant ministers led the campaign to put God on our coins. If we were founded on Christian principles, I challenge you to produce the Biblical verses expressing E Pluribus Unum, capitalism and a democratic form of government or at least produce the references to Christ, The Bible, God, or any scripture at all in our Constitution.. If this nation was a Christian nation from the beginning, why was it necessary for the religious to seize the opportunity during the McCarthy witch-hunt craze to instill their theology in our Pledge of Allegiance which was God-free until that time, on our paper money and in our national motto? No, it is quite clear to those of us without an agenda that this nation was founded on the principles of the enlightenment that brought the Renaissance to Europe, on the principles of Humanism and freedom of conscience. The desperation with which Christianity must misquote our Founders, create purpose where there was none on their parts, and attempt to mesh reason with their faith is evidence of the invalidity of their claims. A motto is a phrase designed to reflect the ideas, purpose or nature of a group. What is the nature of the United States of America? Is it a Christian nation? No. How can it be when there are other religions represented among its population? How can it be when Christianity is not mentioned in our Constitution? Christians want to force the US into being a Christian nation by taking advantage of fearful times to tread the rights of others in seemingly innocuous ways like placing the word god on our money and in our pledge. They are spurious and devious means, indeed. But no matter how they try to create a theocracy within the borders of this great nation, they are doomed to fail. It is too late for them. Once granted freedom, at some point in your stripping them of their rights, the free will begin to wake up and take notice. And the point is near, I believe. A motto should reflect the people. People should not be forced to embrace a motto. And because the people of this nation are not all Christian, nor all believers in God, we must return to the original and proper motto of the United States of America: E Pluribus Unum. It will happen one day. I am sure of it.
The newspaper this week seems filled with letters from theists who think there's nothing wrong with having prayer in schools. The atheists are such a tiny minority, they reason, that we should forget about them and do what we all want to do: pray in school. I just don't get it. Why should kids pray in school? Why do they need to be led in prayer? Why isn't a moment of silence enough? What is it about Christians (yes, Christians...it's obvious they are the theists advocating student-led prayer in schools) that causes them to be so biased? So selfish? So hard-headed? Everyone believes in some kind of god, they say. Maybe (assuming you've agreed to ignore the atheists). But, not everyone calls their god God or Heavenly Father or Lord. Not everyone envisions their deity as a "being." How can a non-denominational (read Judeo-Christian without reference to Jesus) prayer be appropriate for every sort of theism that exists? It can't. But Christians refuse to admit that. They insist that everyone deserving freedom believes in the Judeo-Christian god. Atheists, Wiccans, Pagans, Native American spiritualists, Shinto, Hindus, Buddhists are all to be ignored or worse, prayed to! The nerve! Christians pretend that a non-denominational prayer serves everyone (except those nasty atheists that are going to burn in hell anyway, so why bother worrying about them); but don't be fooled. Try allowing a Wiccan student to lead a spell, or a Native American spiritualist student to lead a whatever they do, or any non-traditional spiritualism representative do anything other than begin a prayer with Heavenly Father. Then their real bias will show. Then we'll all be made very aware of their true desire--to have all our nations' children pray to the Christian god daily in school. I guess what really bothers me is that so many people in this country don't seem to be able to step outside themselves to see that not everyone thinks like they do. Everyone is assumed to be Christian. And anyone who is not a Christian is automatically thought of as bad, immoral. Like Christianity is moral? How moral is "He who is not with me is against me?" How moral is likening non-Jews to dogs? How moral is sending millions to eternal torment in hell for believing in the wrong god? When will people wake up? When will they actually read their holy book? When will they examine their beliefs? When will they grow up?
I am a homeschooler. Homeshcooling began in the conservative Christian community but has expanded to the rest of the world fairly quickly. Still, I worried when I started out that I wouldn't be able to find a support group that wasn't Christian. Lucky for me, I found an all-inclusive homeschool group in my area. Apparently, this group accepted anyone regardless of their religious faith. I was skeptical, though. To many people in the homeschooling movement, all-inclusive could mean including all Christians regardless of denomination. But there was a woman in this particular group whom I knew as a pantheist of sorts. So, I gave it a try. I'm not very social. I don't think that has everything to do with my atheism...but I think the two may be related in some way. I was always non-social, even as a child. I can remember not understanding most kids. Everybody puzzled me; people still puzzle me. I tried very hard to be liked by everyone and I figured to do that I had to be like everyone. I can safely say I was never generally liked and never succeeded in being like anybody--except myself. So, I hung about on the outskirts of this group for a long time, waiting to see if anything would come of it. People began to know who I was, but no friendships evolved. There are acquaintances. That's the social story of my life: always an acquaintance, never a friend. This year, they had a meeting to reorganize the group and I was one of the few people who showed up. I ended up with the newsletter. I'm the perfect person for a homeschooling group's newsletter. Sure, I fancy myself a writer. But, like, hello! I'm an atheist. None of these people knew that, though. Now they do. It happened like this. One of the Biblical Christians in our group got a bit of a bee in her sassy little bonnet because some of our new members appeared to be (gasp!) Wiccans. She decided it was time to leave the group. I agree with her decision wholeheartedly. If you can't stand to be in the same park with a Wiccan, you should take your curriculum and head for the hills! But, on her way out she managed to alert several people of the presence of the Wiccans and claimed they were casting spells at park day! Now, if you're atheist, I know you're laughing right now. I laughed a lot at first, too. Unfortunately, it's times like these when you find out who your real friends (or acquaintances) are. There was a woman in the group that I liked. She was a Christian, I knew that. But, she was a very good friend of that pantheist I told you about so I figured she must be liberal. I eventually let her know I am atheist and she didn't scream or anything. When I found out she was leaving our homeschooling group over this brouhaha regarding the Wiccans, I thought she was tired of rumor-mongering and political infighting. But, sad to say, she told me that she'd researched Wicca, and the Bible and came to realize that not only could she not remain in our group with the Wiccans, but she would have to end her friendship with one of them because of it. But, she said, these people had to expect that they would be treated this way. The gall they have! To choose such controversial lifestyles. I let that one go. The thing is...this woman was so excited to find out that her friend wasn't a Wiccan after all! Lo, and behold, she's a Native American spiritualist. I guess that's not mentioned in the Bible. Lucky for the would-be Wiccan! She can keep her friend! Her religion is on the "okay" list! Then the woman professed empathy for the would-be Wiccan over the prejudice she must face...you know, people confusing Native American spiritualism with (gasp!) Wicca! The poor thing! So, I'm stunned and thinking...it's okay to prejudge the Wiccans...but so sad that someone would prejudge a Wicca look-a-like? If you're not sure why I was so upset, let me give you an analogy. It's like this: your friend (acquaintance) Suzie, calls you and says, "Did you hear? Penelope is Black!! I've researched African-Americans and I've studied the Bible and now I can't be her friend anymore. I feel bad. But, you know, Blacks must expect prejudice...being born black and all." Later Suzie calls you again and says, "I'm so happy! Penelope and I can still be friends. She's not Black! She's just really, really dark skinned! I feel so sorry for her having to face that sort of prejudice!" So, what saddened me the most was not that a Biblical Christian made a fuss over Wiccans, but that someone I thought was a friend (of the acquaintance variety) turned out to be a bigot. There is a good side, though. I felt like I had to say something, being in charge of the newsletter and all (...I guess I feel like the glue holding the group together which is very funny considering I'm so unsociable) so I posted a message to our email list about tolerance and all-inclusiveness. Several people emailed me with support, most of whom professed alternative spiritual choices like Paganism. So, I am feeling less outside the circle in the homeschool group than I did before. One lady did email me to say she was offended that I brought the religious issue out in the open. She said she didn't want to know what other people believe and she didn't want to tell other people what she believes unless they ask her directly. In a way, I can understand that attitude and I apologized to her for offending her. But as I thought about it, I realized that I don't agree with her. I think religion needs to come out of the closet. The longer we keep quiet, the longer Christians will think they're in charge. They would love for the Pagans, Wiccans, Hunanists, Atheists, etc. to just keep quiet. They look at others as abnormal and want us to keep out of sight...so they won't be offended by our presence. I think it's time atheists stood up and spoke out. I, for one, am tired of hiding. And, I'm not going to do it anymore. The spells at park day still haven't been explained....
Being different is difficult. I can understand why people congregate and search for comfort with like-minded others when they can find them. Our country is full of different people. Without freedom, this wouldn’t be possible. We celebrate difference as we celebrate liberty. But, I am coming to realize that not all people understand freedom this way; many people have a different, selfish, notion of freedom. Freedom isn’t only about being free to practice Christianity, Judaism or Islam. It’s also about freedom to be atheist, agnostic, Humanist or Pagan. Freedom isn’t just about waving the flag and calling for patriotism. It’s also about freedom to refuse to wave the flag and to criticize our leaders when we feel it is necessary. We are not all on the same bandwagon. That’s what this country and freedom are about: freedom to be different. When people call the perpetrators of the terrorist acts against us "godless," they are saying that all good people are like themselves, theists. But that is not true. When people call for organized prayer to be returned to schools, they are showing us that freedom to them means only freedom for themselves to live in a theistic country where people who don’t believe in what they believe in are to be outcast. No, these people don’t understand what freedom is really about; they have no appreciation for living on the "different" side. While they are lucky in their comfort with their dominant belief systems, they are sad to behold when they begin undermining the freedoms on which this country is built. Never mind what you think the Founding Fathers meant or felt or believed. Consider instead the history since they founded this great nation and our gains toward equality, tolerance and understanding. Freedom means allowing all people to believe or not believe what they will and for all people to speak their minds openly and without fear. All people. Not just your people. The atheist community is saddened and horrified by the events of September 11, 2001. We are equally saddened by the events following, including the calls to the god of Christianity to wreak vengeance on the enemy while blessing this nation, calls to turn this nation into a theocracy, and worse, claims that said god brought the events to bear because everyone in this country doesn’t behave in the way this god’s spokesmen declare righteous in manner. We are not like you. We are different from you. But we are your brothers in freedom. When you deny us, you deny a part of yourselves. When you deny us, you deny freedom. |