(September 24, 2012 at 4:45 pm)festive1 Wrote: Thanks for your view FNM, I have to say it makes a lot of sense. If we ever become a religious-free culture, we'll need reminders of how and why we got there...
You're welcome, and I have to say that this is the first time I have ever been accused of making sense.
festive1 Wrote:I think what got my panties in a wad is the opinion article has that somewhat menacing undertone of "atheists aren't patriotic." Which isn't true. I've heard "Well, of course you don't care about average people, you're an atheist" a few too many times (and recently). I consider myself a patriot, I just don't always agree with how the US handles things. Why is questioning or dissent viewed as "unpatriotic"? I support our troops so much I don't think we should send them into conflicts without good cause and only after other more peaceful means have been exhausted, isn't that patriotism? Isn't that even more patriotic than sending troops into conflict just to prove we're the biggest bully on the playground? Le sigh.
I think there are two reasons that atheists tend to be labeled as unpatriotic. The first is that many people associate atheism with socialism or communism, two of the dirtiest words in the U.S. The second is that many people believe the U.S. to be "God's country," so they conclude that the rejection of God must be an anti-American sentiment. I don't take it too personally, because our country is filled with fucking idiots that think the earth is less than 10,000 years old.
And don't you know that "Support the Troops" can only mean supplying them with all the weapons needed to smite our enemies?
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
