“All of us think hard
before admitting we don’t accept supernatural explanations for things. In this age, it seems incredible that this
should be a risky position, but it is.
Ask any politician who forgets to say "God bless
I sent this to Culver’s office via his website:
August 6, 2009
To The Hon. Gov. Chet Culver:
In response to the removal of the Iowa Atheists and Freethinker’s ads from DART buses, you said:
“I was disturbed, personally, by the advertisement and I can understand why other Iowans were also disturbed by the message that it sent.”
What is disturbing about acknowledging that some people don’t believe in God? This is common knowledge. Is it more disturbing than acknowledging that some people have AIDs, some people have abortions or that some people use drugs?
It is good policy to advertise about these issues in order to reach those affected. The IAF was trying to spread their message. Their message was not “There is no God”. It wasn’t “We want to convert you to atheism.” It was “If you don’t believe in God, you’re not alone.”
It is hard to imagine that anyone would have objected to similar ads that didn’t mention God.
“If you don’t believe in defeat, you’re not alone.”
“If you don’t believe kids have to go hungry, you’re not alone.”
“If you don’t believe in war, you’re not alone.”
The IAF tried to reach potential members without being offensive. Most of the people I know are religious. They are not so sensitive that they need to be shielded from the demographic fact that around 10% of Americans identify themselves as atheist. This would be like pretending there are no Jews, Episcopalians or gays. Atheists exist, pay taxes and vote. There should be no difference in how we are treated.
If I say I believe in God, even without indicating what I mean by the word, all is well. When I say that I am not persuaded by any of the arguments for God, just as you are not persuaded by the arguments for all the Gods but yours, I am placed in a separate social caste. Most non-believers remain in the closet. A few, such as Einstein, Carl Sagan and Bill Gates have been courageously honest. (They’re not politicians.)
Atheists remain the most discriminated minority. While most people would vote for a black or a Jew, hardly anyone would vote for a known atheist. We are your brothers, sisters, children and coworkers. It is only a matter of time until this bias is also pushed to the margins of society along with racism, chauvinism and sectarianism.
Liberal democracies have made progress in protecting freedom of religion. Freedom from religion still eludes us. Obama made a first step by including us in his inaugural address. Comments like yours work against the shedding of this final prejudice.
Don Severs
Here’s the version I
sent to the
I was disturbed, personally, by Gov. Culver’s words in response to the removal of the Iowa Atheists and Freethinker’s ads from DART buses. He said:
“I was disturbed, personally, by the advertisement and I can understand why other Iowans were also disturbed by the message that it sent.”
What is disturbing about acknowledging that some people don’t believe in God? This is common knowledge. Is it more disturbing than acknowledging that some people have AIDs, some people have abortions or that some people use drugs?
It is good policy to advertise about these issues in order to reach those affected. The IAF was trying to spread their message. Their message was not “There is no God”. It wasn’t “We want to convert you away from your faith.” It was “If you don’t believe in God, you’re not alone.”
It is hard to imagine that anyone would have objected to similar ads that didn’t mention God.
“If you don’t believe in defeat, you’re not alone.”
“If you don’t believe kids have to go hungry, you’re not alone.”
“If you don’t believe in war, you’re not alone.”
The IAF tried to reach potential members without being offensive. Most of the people I know are religious. They are not so sensitive that they need to be shielded from the demographic fact that around 10% of Americans identify themselves as atheist. This would be like pretending there are no Jews, Episcopalians or gays. Atheists are citizens, pay taxes and vote. There should be no difference in how we are treated.
If I say I believe in God, even without indicating what I
mean by the word, all is well. When I
say that I am not persuaded by any of the arguments for God, just as believers are
not persuaded by the arguments for all the Gods but theirs, I am placed in a
separate social caste. Most non-believers
remain in the closet. A few, such as
Einstein, Carl Sagan and Bill Gates have been
courageously honest. All of us think
hard before admitting we don’t accept supernatural explanations for
things. In this age, it seems incredible
that this should be a risky position, but it is. Ask any politician who forgets to say
"God bless
Atheists remain the most discriminated minority. While most people would vote for a black or a Jew, only about half would vote for a known atheist. We are your brothers, sisters, children and coworkers. It is only a matter of time until this bias is also pushed to the margins of society along with racism, chauvinism and sectarianism.
Liberal democracies such as ours have made progress in protecting freedom of religion. Freedom from religion still eludes us. Obama made a first step by including nonbelievers in his inaugural address. Comments like Culver’s work against the shedding of this final prejudice.
The point is that we are only as free as our
minorities. Since demographics change
continuously, we may find ourselves in the minority at any time. This was the case with 1st century
Christians. They were
Humanity has one lifeboat. We should work for everyone’s freedom, not just that of the majority.
Don Severs