"I'm wondering why you didn't mention non-religious people in your speech yesterday, number one, and also what you meant by 'freedom requires religion'?" asked a reporter.
An important point--but Romney deflected. "I'm paraphrasing something that's been said both by John Adams and George Washington," he said. "Which is that, in their view, for a nation like ours to be great and to thrive... that our Constitution was written for a people of faith and religion. It's a very extraordinary element and foundation for our nation. I believe that's the case."
Unsatisfied, another reporter pounced. "Do you think an atheist or non-believer or non-spiritual person can't therefore be a free person?" he asked.
"Of course not," Romney responded. "That's not what I said."
"But you said 'freedom requires religion'?"
"I'm talking about the nation," Romney snapped.
- Newsweek
Hadn't posted to Atheisms in a while, but this seemed like a good time to get something fresh up there. It seems like every time you turn around this week, some religious something-or-other is demanding the death of some non-religious someone-or-other. So many news stories this week, I decided to share with everyone what it looks like to be an atheist in the world this month.
Look out for scarlet "A"s - the infamous literary symbol has been co-opted by the New Atheists as part of the Out Campaign. Atheists are encouraged to wear the scarlet letter as a symbol of our willingness to be publicly recognized.
From RichardDawkins.net:
Our choir is large, but much of it remains in the closet. Our repertoire may include the best tunes, but too many of us are mouthing the words sotto voce with head bowed and eyes lowered. It follows that a major part of our consciousness-raising effort should be aimed, not at converting the religious but at encouraging the non-religious to admit it – to themselves, to their families, and to the world. This is the purpose of the OUT campaign.
The OUT campaign has potentially as many sides to it as you can think of words to precede "out". "Come OUT" has pride of place and is the one I have so far dealt with. Related to it is "Reach OUT" in friendship and solidarity towards those who have come out, or who are contemplating that step which, depending on their family or home town prejudices, may require courage. Join, or found local support groups and on-line forums. Speak OUT, to show waverers they are not alone. Organize conferences or campus events. Attend rallies and marches. Write letters to the local newspaper. Lobby politicians, at local and national level. The more people come out and are known to have done so, the easier will it be for others to follow.
So, now you'll know what the symbol means if you see it - and possibly want to wear it yourself.
And no, not in a lightning bolt like you all expected.
I'm studying for the Bar Exam, which is tomorrow. I had just done a few sets of questions, each set containing 25 questions. I was trying to figure out my rough score, so went to Google and typed in my first one: 17/25. Google calculator gave me the percentage, but it also performed a Google search for "17" and "25" in close proximity.
The results that came back were mostly a Bible verse - Isaiah 65: 17-25. And what prophecy does Isaiah have for someone studying for the Bar? The verse quoted says "the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind."
I've posted before about the correlation between religious fundamentalism and low IQs (and atheism and high IQs), but I didn't actually realize what that meant until I found this article. But this is a fun webpage ... so let's play a game. We'll play the matching game! Won't that be fun?
Twenty-five percent of Americans are fundamentalist Christians. Twenty-nine percent of Americans approve of the job that George Bush is doing.
Sixty-one percent of Americans do not believe in evolution. Sixty-six percent of Americans cannot identify DNA as the key to heredity. Only ten percent of people know what radiation is.
Parents that choose to homeschool their children are five times more likely to be Christian. Half of all homeschooling families are born-again Christians. Twenty percent of Americans believe the Sun orbits around the Earth.
People frighten me. Because people can vote.
Update: Here's a link to the NY Times article this was based on.
Some of you might remember a few months ago when I got all upset over a story that CNN had run - it was a story about atheism in America, and it was horribly biased against atheists. After that story ran on Paula Zahn's show, I sent a letter to CNN indicating that they had lost a viewer.
After that, I needed a new media outlet to focus my attention on, and it had to be one that I really liked, because I check the news constantly. I decided on MSNBC because I liked the format of their website. And I definitely made the right choice.
Here's a link to a recent edition of the morning show on MSNBC. The anchor was given a story about Paris Hilton to lead the newscast, to be followed by a story about the war in Iraq. The anchor, Mika Brezinski, destroyed the script, even after her producer handed it back to her three times. She refused to cover Paris Hilton leaving jail, instead attempting to focus on Congressional oversight of the war in Iraq.
Now that's the kind of coverage I can appreciate.
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