Atheists are the most sensitive people on the face of the earth. The mere glimpse of someone else's religious symbol or the whisper of a prayer or the name of a deity, drives them to the floor in an apoplectic fit. If said symbol should be a crucifix, months of rehabilitation may be required.
As soon as their head clears from the shock of a near religious exposure, they immediately call one of their tame lawyers and institute a lawsuit against all people, places, and things that may be involved in the heinous treatment they received at the hands of, what was once, a free society.
As a rule, the people, places, and things being sued do not have the ability nor the wherewithal to fight such a lawsuit. Eventually a judge gets involved. Usually a liberal judge. (Are there any other kind any more?) A finding will be handed down that the cross must come down or the phrase, "oh my God", will be banned in a particular school district.
But this is all low hanging fruit. This is the school yard bully, picking on the little kids. It is time for the big sissies that shudder if they hear the name Yahweh spoken aloud to man up or woman up, should that be more appropriate, and take on the big fish.
After many long and, sometimes, difficult hours of research watching hundreds of baseball and football games, I have observed many acts of blatant public religiosity take place on the playing field. I have seen pitchers walk to the mound and bless themselves before they throw the first pitch. I have seen running backs take a knee in prayer after scoring a touchdown. I have seen countless players in both sports raise both arms in thanks to their maker after a successful play.
These people are not low hanging fruit. They have money to burn. They have agents. They have lawyers. But most of all they have hugely powerful sports organizations behind them. This is the big game in the hunting preserve.
Will the sissy atheists man up and take on Major League Baseball or the NFL. I hardly think so. It is so much more fun for them to pick on the little guy and take away a little piece of his freedom and his life.
You see, their lives are so small and shallow that this give them pleasure and they have nothing that anyone can take away in return. You can't get water out of an empty well and you can't take away pleasure from an empty life.
Most atheists I know (including myself) have no problem with people praying to themselves. In fact, we fully support freedoms of speech and religion; but many of us also expect a separation of church and state. A student praying silently before a test is okay; a teacher-led prayer is not.
ReplyDeleteAtheists aren't a group of bullies picking on a smaller kid. We're the smaller kid wanting equal freedom for minority views, not only for atheists. Want a Christian club at the local public high school? No problem, as long as there can also be Muslim, atheist, Hindu, and other such clubs.
Lastly, I find it interesting that atheists are sometimes perceived as miserable, rudderless, hateful, easily offended crybabies. Many atheists I know are happy, productive, and loving people. I have great times with friends and family, am always amazed when I see a clear night sky, spend much of my time learning new things, help others, and have always been very accepting of people who are different. I even go to a church on most Sundays although not to the service.
Are there some atheists who fit the stereotype? Of course. There are also believers who fit this stereotype, although some Christians might be quick to dismiss them as not true believers. (There's no such thing as a "true" atheist.) There are also several atheists who think that sometimes the lawsuits you mentioned go too far, such as targeting a fire station for having a nativity scene; I personally don't see the purpose of taking legal action here. However, I do strongly support action taken against students being treated unfairly because of their religious beliefs, whether the victims are Christian, atheist, or have any other view.