Frivology

I popped a quick post up earlier form Google Reader linking to PZ’s account of a woman in Washington trying to get an anti-atheist initiative on the state ballot.  I didn’t realize, at the time, that the woman was actually from the area I grew up in - Whatcom County.  In particular, she lives in Blaine, goes to some church events in Bellingham and works in Lynden.  After discovering this, I figured it was no wonder she’s crazy.  This is a crazy part of the country, and, as will eventually come out in my ‘Losing My Religion’ series, that area is part of why I’m an atheist today. 

First, some crazy: 

“I think probably at least that more creation science is overlooked as not belonging in the public school system because of the religion (aspect),” she said.

Citing the state Constitution, the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the initiative states it “is about requiring our government to do its job, to protect our liberty, a liberty which has been endowed by our Creator, the one responsible for Blessing us, the Supreme Ruler of the Universe.”

via: Blaine woman trying to get anti-evolution initiative on state ballot

Next, some insight into the crazy that is this part of the country.  Whatcom County is situated in the far Northwest corner of the United States.  Blaine is practically Canada.  I grew up in Bellingham, which was considered “the big city” compared to the other parts of the area - Lynden, Ferndale, Blaine and surrounding itty bitty towns, almost all of which are crazy religious.  Lynden is the worst, which has several Blue Laws on the books, including laws prohibiting liquor to be sold on Sundays, prohibiting establishments that allow dancing and drinking in the same place and prohibiting certain activities to be performed on Sundays.  It’s a real ‘Stepford’ kind of place, with perfectly mowed lawns and perfect little blocks with perfect little churches on every corner.  If you don’t mow your lawn in a timely fashion, the city will mow it for you and then send you the bill.  I used to get chills whenever we’d drive through the place.  That kind of crazy. 

The surrounding other cities weren’t much better.  Rumors persisted year after year that teen pregnancy and alcohol and substance abuse were much higher than in the city where we lived, and I even had a friend who told me she wasn’t allowed to have a prom.  Remember Footloose?  Yeah.  That.  Funny story… the relatively progressive church that we attended slowly got overrun by the Stepford wives.  My mom - a Sunday School teacher, Calvinette volunteer (it’s girl scouts for presbyterians) and choir member hated these women to a last one.  So, during one of our youth lock-in sleepovers, when it was our job to rent the movies she was sure to pick up … you guessed it … Footloose.  She just loved making those women squirm. 

Anyhow, Washington is a fairly progressive state, and it’s considered ‘blue’, but this particular bit of nutso comes from a rather nutso part of the state.  Yes, it’s really that bad and really that stupid.  I highly doubt it’ll actually turn into anything, but once you understand the people in the ara, you can understand how it could happen.

via: Atheist Media Blog

At the very end of this, you get this gem:  “…and which suggests that the universe is essentially purposeless and undirected, and one where people have perfect moral freedom to do exactly what they want because there’s no higher purpose to which they’re accountable.”

Every time I hear this argument I bristle.  Again, it is a denunciation of the power of mankind.  By announcing that we MUST absolutely have a higher authority to respond to otherwise we’ll go bonkers and do all sorts of crazy things, we’re saying that we have little to no faith in ourselves.  Mature humans are smart enough and reasonable enough to understand that actions have reactions associated with them.  You can’t just run about and murder everyone you don’t like, or someone you don’t like is going to murder you.  You can’t go around stealing everyone’s money because eventually someone will steal your money.  Then, there’s empathy with others, a trait, again, shared by mature humans.  If you hurt someone in some less tangible way, say by cheating on them in a relationship, you empathize with their pain and naturally think ‘what if I were in her shoes’?

I think, personally, that religion short-circuits our natural ability to form natural morals by giving people an easy out.  That’s why you see people running into crowds and blowing themselves up in the name of god, but you don’t see atheists doing the same thing.  If you’re religiously motivated to something it’s right, even if the rest of your nature-given intelligence tells you otherwise.

Then there’s purpose.  Purpose is something given to you, either by yourself or by another human being.  If your ‘purpose’ is to earn enough brownie points with god to get into heaven, that’s not something divinely attached to you.  It’s given to you through your church which is run by humans, not deities.  Those of us without belief in god still believe in purpose just as that definition – it’s just that we give ourselves our own purpose rather than waiting for someone else to come along and give it to us for us.  Again, in this case, religion short-circuits nature.

So today is Darwin Day, and I’ve been mulling over in my head for the past couple of weeks just what I wanted to say in this post.  I’m not a scientist by any means, and my understanding of Darwin goes as far back as high school, wich is around 15 years ago.  I’m reading ‘Why Evolution is True‘, but I don’t have a whole lot of time to read these days, being busy with work and a few other hobbies.  So, I stumbled along with idea after idea until something finally dawned on me… it’s something I’m sort of working slowly up to in my Losing My Religion series here at Frivology.  The series is about all of the different religions I hopped in and out of before I finally found peace in no religion and no belief, but the underlying theme to it is a personal bit of anecdotal evidence that there are certain people in this world who are hard-wired to be atheists.  Natural born atheists, so to speak… and I have to wonder, are human beings evolving into disbelief? 

About a year ago, I listened to Julia Sweeney’s ‘Letting Go of God’.  It moved me because Julia described all of the different beliefs she went through before she allowed herself to stop believing.  I did much the same thing.  Also like her, I wanted desperately to be a part of the moving ritual and beauty that religion can offer the world.  I, however, was cognitive enough of my own disbelief that I spent a great deal of time lying about what I felt.  I lied and said that I was wounded and needed Christianity to heal me.  I lied and said that I felt the warmth of God.  I lied and said that I felt the love of the Goddess… so on and so forth.  Some part of me knew I was lying, yet I craved the companionship, warmth and peace that so many “believers” seemed to have.  For me, though, I didn’t get that peace until I finally completely let go and admitted that I didn’t believe.  From the beginning, I never believed - couldn’t believe.  I was always meant to be an atheist.  It dawned on me, then, that I probably wasn’t alone.  Whatever made other people believe just wasn’t part of me. 

(continue reading…)

For the record, I’m on the fence as to whether or not Atheists should be loud-mouths.  I can both see the benefits of being rather vocally out in the public sector and the drawbacks.  I literally sway back and forth.  I tend to, personally, sway more toward the being loud part, no matter what the message is – but that’s because I don’t believe that the religious should have a monopoly on free speech.

No matter what, though, I have a real problem with people who describe themselves as religious essentially telling Atheists to STFU.  Mark Fefer of Seattle Weekly has done just that.  I actually caught up with him on his follow-up, but I think his first article is worth quoting.

I happen to be a religious person myself. But to have any reverend stand before the country and start directly addressing— on our behalf—a kindergarten version of God (old male, up there, controlling everything) as our government leaders bow their heads just seems wrong on its face. We all elected this president, and it’s not a religious office.

The trouble is that the only people speaking up loudly for separation of church and state are people who hate the church part.

via: Not Praying Along With Obama

Kind of a harsh introduction to what he thinks about atheists, don’t you think?  I certainly do. 

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You won’t believe this, but in this case it’s Christians complaining that they are being persecuted because children in Canada are being taught ethics and religious culture.  I can see where they’re coming from on this.  I had to take a few culture courses in High School and there are plenty on my required list for my college GE credits.  The effort is to make people understand all of the different people in the world.  Oddly, though, this doesn’t seem to sit well with Christians who want to teach their children to hate and revile those of other religions.

Paul Donovan, the principal at Loyola High School in Montreal, told the National Post his school has initiated a court challenge against the class, which he said does not ask students to distinguish between right and wrong.
"What it essentially says is that religion is just, ‘You like tomato soup and I like pea soup, so don’t be all offended because someone likes tomato soup. It’s really just a matter of preference,’" he said. "Religion could be Wiccan or Raelian or any of the new movements or atheism or agnosticism."

This, apparently, is terribly offensive, and persecutes Christians who want to teach their children that tomato soup is the only soup anyone is allowed to like, and those who like pea soup will burn in soup hell.

Another disturbing bit…

A Voice of the Martyrs blog post commended the students for their opposition to state religious teaching.
"We believe that the state has no right to mandate religious education, force students to learn the content of other religious and to deliberately seek to undermine the religious convictions of those who refuse to accept a relativistic view of truth," VOM said.
"It is the right and responsibility of parents to train their own children according to their own religious beliefs, not those of the state," the persecution watchdog group said. "Religious courses, if offered, should be optional or alternatives provided. But the state must not mandate what religious content will or will not be taught to children, especially against the wishes of their parents."

Train?  Train?  Beyond potty-training, do you really "train" your children?  They aren’t dogs.  You can’t click a little toy and offer them a treat when they sit down when they’re told.  They are human beings.  Geez.

Ever since the inauguration, I keep reading the same phrase (or hearing it uttered) over and over and over and over again… "Well, Christians are the majority, so we get what we want.  Shut up, Atheists." 

This is also characterized in this article at AlterNet, recounting some recent comments.  "Pilgrim" says:

Why can’t atheists keep their incessant whining to themselves instead of continuously denigrating believers who outnumber them?

I personally don’t give a hoot what atheists believe, and I wish they would just shut up and stop belittling those who don’t see things the way they do.

Things are not going to change because of their continuous grousing and ridiculing.

Well, Pilgrim (I feel like John Wayne suddenly), what you really need to realize is that our push to restore the separation of church and state isn’t just for our own, fat, atheist egos.  It’s because it’s fairer to everyone - including you.  Right now, you are right, Christianity is the majority.  But… Atheists, Agnostics, Non-Believers, Humanists and the Irreligious make up the second largest group.  If wackaloons continue to take over your religion, we can easily see it bolstering our ranks.  A few generations from now, when the tables are reversed, what would you rather see….

World #1: While Atheists are the majority, Christians are still allowed their churches, and still allowed their personal freedom to believe in whatever they want to.  While these beliefs aren’t carried out through the government, the government also doesn’t tell Christians they aren’t allowed.  While government-sponsored functions no longer make reference to god, jesus, the bible or anything religious, they also don’t force those who believe to stop believing. 

World #2: Atheists, now in the majority, decide to treat Christians like Christians have treated Atheists.  Christians who wear T-Shirts that have Jesus on them are frequently ridiculed and called names.  In some places, Christians are asked to REMOVE any paraphernalia, as it is offensive to non-believers.  All government-sponsored events start with an announcement that there is no god, and require those who take the oath of office to do so on ‘On the Origin of Species’.  Polls regularly state that the majority of the people of the United States trust Christians LESS than they trust Wall Street Investors and churches can rarely get zoning for their buildings to be built. 

Now… seriously … which world would you rather live in?  I know it may be hard - nay impossible - for a "true believer" to imagine a world where they aren’t the majority, but try.  I’d dare say that most atheists do not want World #2.  Most atheists are content to live in a world where there are dozens of religions that they don’t believe in so long as those religions don’t force their beliefs on them.  Similarly, while most atheists don’t really have any desire to deconvert everyone that they meet.  They’re content only to explain their disbelief when asked.  I realize I’m speaking in generalities here, but I believe these generalities are all fairly true.

So, for those who keep spouting the ‘We’re the majority’ line, remember… you may not always be the majority.  Do you really want to be treated the way that you treat us?

I had to go to the dentist yesterday, so I didn’t have time for a proper lunch.  Instead, I rean through McDonald’s to pick up something quick and easy.  While there, I ended up behind the cutest little Neocon EVER and remembered I had a camera in my bag.  That’s a bumper sticker for ultra-conservative Duncan D. Hunter, who has said, “For me the central tenet of America is that our freedom is not granted to us by a man-made government, but is gifted to us from God and so may not be taken away by man …at least not without a fight.”  To the right of that is a sticker for the California Rifle and Pistol Association, who proudly proclaims on their website, “Society is safer when criminals don’t know who’s armed.”

I couldn’t decipher the one on the left, but those two made me laugh as it was.  It wasn’t necessarily that he was just another wack-a-loon.  What got me was that he was a rather large (and I mean fit large, possibly ex-military) man in a little tiny adorable silver VW bug.  Oh, and he ordered a chicken sandwich.  Ah, California…

Predictably – Rush is already starting to pick on the Obamas, and doing so in only the idiotic way that he can. 

He then told them to break free of the confrontational mindset epitomised by Mr Limbaugh, the highest paid talk show host in America. "You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," Mr Obama said.

His comments followed a blunt attack on him by Mr Limbaugh, who declared on air that he hoped Mr Obama would fail as president because otherwise it will usher in socialism.

Via: Telegraph, Via: Bligbi

I for one hope that Rush keeps it up.  Obama’s starting to show that he’s not going to be mowed over by the Right, and America’s already proven that the majority of us are sick and tired of the Right.  The more idiotic things Rush says, the more listeners he’s going to lose.  Especially when Obama’s work gets people back to work.  It’ll just make Rush look like he’s calling for everyone to be miserable and unemployed.

Rush, you should try picking on someone your own size.  The Obamas are completely out of your league.

Why do these conversations always come up when I’m sleeping? 

I want my commenters to be uncivil. There is no virtue in politeness when confronted with ignorance, dishonesty, and delusion. I want them to charge in to the heart of the issue and shred the frauds, without hesitation and without faltering over manners. These demands for a false front of civility are one of the strategies used by charlatans who want to mask their lack of substance — oh, yes, it would be so goddamned rude to point out that a huckster is lying to you. I am quite happy that we have a culture of being rude to frauds here.

I wanted to be uncivil, too, but there are just too many comments, now!  

PS: Another PZ gem that hits close to home.  Is there some sort of mental deformity that makes certain people actually think certain horribad web design is actually, in fact, good?  Gotta be the reptile theory…