(November 16, 2012 at 8:31 pm)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote: Not that I don't support such efforts... but...
What the hell does anyone expect the President can or will do about this? This sort of thing falls squarely in the Legislative branch's corner.
You may as well ask the President to denounce Mom, apple pie, and Old Glory.
Yea, that is the meme they have for far too long gullibly swallowed. But if you were a Christian or Jew or gay living in Iran, would you not want to fight the popular social norms?
It really isn't a call to end religion, nor is it a one time shot or gamble on a quick solution. It is merely one tactic in many long term to get a seat at the table.
To say we shouldn't do it or that it is pointless, is easy to refute by pointing out that Jefferson said to question the existence of a god, and demanded a wall between church and state, and convinced a very sectarin Baptist state to give up on government favortism of their religion "Virginia Religious Freedom Act".
You are thinking in the now. And I am thinking that if women can long term gain the right to vote, and blacks don't have to use separate bathrooms, long term, we can convince the religious that even for them it is better when we all leave it at the door.
If Jefferson ran on either party's ticket today, he wouldn't make it past either primary, despite he was the biggest advocate of religious freedom AND government neutrality on the issue of religion.
So when you say I cant or should not or imply that it is pointless. If you had told me atheists like Dawkins or Hitchens or Harris or Ali or Neil Degrees Tyson would be in our mainstreem back in 01, I would have told you you were nuts.
The point is to gain ground, not expect suddend results.
