Our culture has conditioned a mortal fear of free thinkers, while steadfastly ignoring the fact this massively screwed up country is mostly the work product of believers. Scarcely a day passes when a religious figure does not present a great example of the disconnect between religion and morality.
GREAT news, though the sad part of this whole business is that there's not one member with a (R) next to their name. I would suspect that any Republican who joined the Congressional Freethought Caucus would get another letter, a la Hester Prynne. I should say, too: "quietly?" It is past time that those who value critical thinking in government make some serious noise about there association with the CFC, especially considering the utter lack of such that is seen too often on the (R) side of the aisle.
Regardless, congrats and welcome to Representatives Mullin and Schakowsky. They just joined the side that's gonna WIN!
Rep. Lauren Boebert was going to join the Congressional Freethought Caucus, but then she realized that it was Freethought, and not free from thought. That and she ended up spending a day and a half in the congressional bathroom staring at a mirror trying to see herself blink, and missing the meeting.
Glad to see that it's growing... but the membership list is still depressingly short. Nothing the CFC advocates for should be even slightly controversial, but I guess this is what we can expect- here in the third decade of the 21st Century- when the vast majority of the electorate still believes that bronze age goat herders held the keys to ultimate cosmic truth. It shouldn't be controversial to call that notion ridiculous, either, and yet...
The fact that this caucus is so small, downright minuscule in fact, is still another demonstration that the Congress in this purported "representative democracy" isn't even close to resembling the demographic makeup of American people. And I daresay it never has (though there have been times when it came closer than it does now). Even at that, it comes closer than the Supreme Court, but that's not much comfort.
In case no one heard, Trump's ploy to get his trial for illegally retaining dozens of classified documents postponed indefinitely has gone the way all his other ploys do: right into the gold-plated toilet.
And who slapped Trump's hand this time? None other than Trump stooge Aileen Cannon herself.
This is wild, and totally overdue, but a good way to counter the bible thumping aholes trying to impose religious law on a secular society. Hip, hip, HOORAY!
We'll see. Once the lever exists, I would it next to impossible to find evidence of its nonuse. C'est-à-dire, parading membership hasn't been, positively or negatively, politically advantageous yet.
"The hope is that the membership continues growing—making the Caucus more influential—while the stigma of being an atheist (or even being associated with non-religiosity) decreases across the country."
The only way that the stigma will decrease is by more and more atheists coming out openly as atheists. Prejudiced people most often let go of their prejudice when they get to know individuals of their target group and realize that they're good, decent people who deserve respect.
Atheists and LGBTQ+ people are the two "invisible" oppressed minorities. Unlike the racial minorities, most often people can't tell at a glance who in a crowd is a nonbeliever or who is not straight. Bigots often reform when they discover that their child, or sibling, or best friend has been "one of them" all along. That invisibility is both a benefit and a difficulty. The benefit is that we get to choose when to come out, how fast, and to whom first. The difficulty is the same thing. We HAVE to choose when, how fast, and to whom first, and it involves courage and fear to weigh those choices. So every atheist, just like every LGBTQ+ person must make those choices for themselves, considering only their own self-interests.
BUT it's also true that the widespread myths, misconceptions, and outright lies about nonbelievers that oppress all of us will only fade away from society when the braver ones among us are willing to take the risks of the personal consequences.
Admittedly, I waited to be publicly known as an atheist until I had very little to lose, so even though I was scared, it was a fear not well founded on any likely hazard. I was retired, so I had no risk to my job, my family was not religious and very liberal and accepting in general, and I already had a collection of supportive friends who were nonbelievers. So it wasn't so much about real courage for me to drop the Cloak of Invisibility, it was just about getting over my timidness.
This is why I always cheer on anyone who is considering coming out, but I never slight them for waiting. For most people it's harder and riskier in real terms than it was for me, so I should not expect something of them that I wasn't willing to do.
And still, one more time, every atheist and every LGBTQ+ person faces less of the oppression that keeps them hidden whenever the braver ones come out. THANK YOU to every person who has, whether easily or with great difficulty, come out openly.
Please visit their websites and send them a quick message of thanks. They will need all the support they can get it in that hotbed of superstition & insanity that is the House of Representatives.
Any movement in this direction is good. One doesn’t have to be non-religious to see the value of our secular Constitution.
Now, about that national slogan...
Our culture has conditioned a mortal fear of free thinkers, while steadfastly ignoring the fact this massively screwed up country is mostly the work product of believers. Scarcely a day passes when a religious figure does not present a great example of the disconnect between religion and morality.
GREAT news, though the sad part of this whole business is that there's not one member with a (R) next to their name. I would suspect that any Republican who joined the Congressional Freethought Caucus would get another letter, a la Hester Prynne. I should say, too: "quietly?" It is past time that those who value critical thinking in government make some serious noise about there association with the CFC, especially considering the utter lack of such that is seen too often on the (R) side of the aisle.
Regardless, congrats and welcome to Representatives Mullin and Schakowsky. They just joined the side that's gonna WIN!
Rep. Lauren Boebert was going to join the Congressional Freethought Caucus, but then she realized that it was Freethought, and not free from thought. That and she ended up spending a day and a half in the congressional bathroom staring at a mirror trying to see herself blink, and missing the meeting.
Two on the list from my state. Too bad my congresscritter is an NSGOP Christian Nationalist.
Glad to see that it's growing... but the membership list is still depressingly short. Nothing the CFC advocates for should be even slightly controversial, but I guess this is what we can expect- here in the third decade of the 21st Century- when the vast majority of the electorate still believes that bronze age goat herders held the keys to ultimate cosmic truth. It shouldn't be controversial to call that notion ridiculous, either, and yet...
Quietly? One would think that adhering to reason would be cause to stand up and shout.
How sad...and telling...that it is not.
"which is to say, no one, not even right-wing media, thinks it’s a big deal for sitting House members to align with a group defending atheists"
I wouldn't be so optimistic. Wait for their numbers to expand more and more and see the death threats starting coming.
The fact that this caucus is so small, downright minuscule in fact, is still another demonstration that the Congress in this purported "representative democracy" isn't even close to resembling the demographic makeup of American people. And I daresay it never has (though there have been times when it came closer than it does now). Even at that, it comes closer than the Supreme Court, but that's not much comfort.
OT
In case no one heard, Trump's ploy to get his trial for illegally retaining dozens of classified documents postponed indefinitely has gone the way all his other ploys do: right into the gold-plated toilet.
And who slapped Trump's hand this time? None other than Trump stooge Aileen Cannon herself.
Meanwhile whatever stunt or blather MAGA idiot #1 MTG does or says is covered immediately by "the media."
This is wild, and totally overdue, but a good way to counter the bible thumping aholes trying to impose religious law on a secular society. Hip, hip, HOORAY!
"This isn't a big deal..."
We'll see. Once the lever exists, I would it next to impossible to find evidence of its nonuse. C'est-à-dire, parading membership hasn't been, positively or negatively, politically advantageous yet.
"The hope is that the membership continues growing—making the Caucus more influential—while the stigma of being an atheist (or even being associated with non-religiosity) decreases across the country."
The only way that the stigma will decrease is by more and more atheists coming out openly as atheists. Prejudiced people most often let go of their prejudice when they get to know individuals of their target group and realize that they're good, decent people who deserve respect.
Atheists and LGBTQ+ people are the two "invisible" oppressed minorities. Unlike the racial minorities, most often people can't tell at a glance who in a crowd is a nonbeliever or who is not straight. Bigots often reform when they discover that their child, or sibling, or best friend has been "one of them" all along. That invisibility is both a benefit and a difficulty. The benefit is that we get to choose when to come out, how fast, and to whom first. The difficulty is the same thing. We HAVE to choose when, how fast, and to whom first, and it involves courage and fear to weigh those choices. So every atheist, just like every LGBTQ+ person must make those choices for themselves, considering only their own self-interests.
BUT it's also true that the widespread myths, misconceptions, and outright lies about nonbelievers that oppress all of us will only fade away from society when the braver ones among us are willing to take the risks of the personal consequences.
Admittedly, I waited to be publicly known as an atheist until I had very little to lose, so even though I was scared, it was a fear not well founded on any likely hazard. I was retired, so I had no risk to my job, my family was not religious and very liberal and accepting in general, and I already had a collection of supportive friends who were nonbelievers. So it wasn't so much about real courage for me to drop the Cloak of Invisibility, it was just about getting over my timidness.
This is why I always cheer on anyone who is considering coming out, but I never slight them for waiting. For most people it's harder and riskier in real terms than it was for me, so I should not expect something of them that I wasn't willing to do.
And still, one more time, every atheist and every LGBTQ+ person faces less of the oppression that keeps them hidden whenever the braver ones come out. THANK YOU to every person who has, whether easily or with great difficulty, come out openly.
Will there ever be a Republican ?
Please visit their websites and send them a quick message of thanks. They will need all the support they can get it in that hotbed of superstition & insanity that is the House of Representatives.