The letter began, “Don’t you dare defend the Constitution because it was written by Christians for Christians.” (“Crank Mail,” FFRF Free Thought Today, Jan/Feb, 2017, pg. 27.) The comment is kinder than most which the Freedom from Religion Foundation receives on a daily basis, but it is equally misinformed. Not all of our founding fathers were Christians (Click).
Atheist are among the most hated groups worldwide (Click) The feeling is understandable. Deprive people of their immortality and it’s no laughing matter. Even Congress frowns on the attempt. Only 2% of our elected officials are unaffiliated while among the general population the rate stands at 23%. But Congress needn’t worry. Atheists don’t believe in politics, either. You’ll never see them carrying signs saying, “Atheists’ Lives matter.” They prefer to be unorganized and as individual as cats.
Courtesy of google.com
If there is a place where a battle cry is heard, it’s in the courts. Atheists don’t protest the right of others to worship but object to being encouraged to shout “Amen,” while standing in line at the See’s Candy counter. (Though I admit, only a god could have invented chocolate.) Atheists want amen to be said in church, where it can be properly heard. Yet for this simple belief, they receive verbal and, sometimes, physical abuse. Frankly, we don’t enjoy it.
Because I stand proudly with the lowest of the low, I’m a little hesitant to point out a recent victory for none believers, courtesy of President Barrack Obama. Himself a religious man, a few days before leaving office, he signed into law the Religious Freedom Frank R. Wolf International Act. (Dec. 16, 2015). It redefines religious freedom to include protections for those “not professing a particular religion , or any religion.” (Ibid pg. 13.) And I say “amen” to that.
Whether or not our new president will repeal this act, as he has repealed others of a humanitarian nature, I cannot say. I suspect he is newly acquainted with God, politics being the instrument of his conversion, so the depth of his persuasion is difficult to predict. Either way, I can honestly say, no act of his will prevent me from stopping by the nearest See’s candy counter when the spirit moves me.
