Recently, I received an email from a visitor to the Attic in response to my column entitled "Why We Fight." The visitor astutely pointed out that the persecution we freethinkers face every day isn't just from the high profile people like Falwell and his cronies. It's taking root everywhere, even in your cute little church on the corner.
It's insidious. It's widespread. And it's frightening.
I want to share something with you right now. This is something that I received from one of the email discussion groups I belong to. The person who posted it did so as an example of the kind of backward mentality that some people have. She'd received the post from her sister, it seems. It's reproduced here exactly as posted, typos and all.
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING WITH OUR KIDS TODAY?Let's see...
I think it started when Madalyn Murray O'Hair complained that she didn't want any PRAYER in our Schools, and WE said O.K.
Then someone said, "You had better not read the Bible in School - The Bible that Says Thou Shalt Not Kill, Thou Shalt Not Steal, AND Love Your Neighbor As Yourself." And WE said, O.K.
Remember Dr. Benjamin Spock, Who said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem? And WE said, O.K., better not discipline our children when they misbehave.
And our school administrators said, "Whoa, No One in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued." And WE said, O.K.
Then someone said, "Let's let our daughters have abortions if they want, and we won't even have to tell their parents." And WE said, O.K.
Then someone else said, "Let's give our sons and daughters ALL the condoms they want, so they can have all the "FUN" they desire, and we won't have to tell their parents." And WE said, O.K.
And then some of our top officials said, that it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. And we said, "As long as I have a job and the economy is good, it doesn't matter to me what anyone does in private, it's nobody's business." In short, it's O.K.
So now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to Kill.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, WE can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW".
This is the kind of mentality we're up against. Let's look at what this says.
These people don't understand why separation of church and state is necessary. They don't see that prayer in public schools (aside from the silent prayer any child can do anytime he or she wants) is an infringement upon the rights of anyone not of that particular faith, and also believe that it is the school's duty to teach morality in addition to mathematics.
They think that striking a child (at home or at school) is an acceptable form of discipline, despite volumes of evidence to the contrary.
They don't understand why a girl would possibly need to have an abortion without the parents' knowledge, when in fact, it is their exhibited attitudes that clearly show why the girl wouldn't want them to know.
They think that kids will have more sex because they can easily obtain condoms, which must mean that they foolishly think they won't have sex without them.
And most frightening of all, they don't think it's okay what anyone does in private if no one is hurt by it!
These are the thoughts of mainstream people, not just the right-wing wackos. These are the things we're up against.
Now, as I said in "Why We Fight," freethinkers generally have a "live and let live" attitude. But our antagonists do not. Their view is "live our way or don't live here." (Or, in extreme instances, don't live at all.)
We must defend our society against these attitudes. So please forgive me for harping on this again...
BECOME ACTIVE.
Do whatever you can. At the very least, confront these inane attitudes whenever you encounter them. Explain to them (politely, if you can, or strenuously, if you can't) that freedom of religion also means freedom from religion. Turn the arguments around: ask them how they'd feel if their child was forced to endure prayers of other religions in school.
Write letters to the editor. I have a letter published in the local paper every month (the maximum they permit), and it is nearly always about matters pertaining to freethought.
Find a local freethought group. If there isn't one, start one. I'm in the process of doing that, here.
Protest violations of the first amendment where you see them. A very common one is the presence of the Ten Commandments on public property. I'm involved in such a dispute here, as well.
If I can do these things, so can you.
In our battle, we must use every weapon of this sort at our disposal. We are new crusaders, fighting for the right to believe what we want to believe, and to not have other beliefs and value systems imposed upon us. Our weapons must be active ones. No longer can we allow ourselves to be vilified.
And our shields should be large mirrors. One can hope that if our antagonists see themselves from the outside, they'll see how ugly they are.
I'm frightened of what might happen if we don't resist them. Literally, physically frightened.
The Nazi regime of Hitler began by mass vilification. It ended with mass murder. And don't think for a moment that it couldn't happen again. We don't need another Hitler for it to happen. Today's Hitlers are legion. For it wasn't that Hitler was so powerful that things happened the way they did. It's because Hitler was so persuasive, so good at causing people to accept prejudices.
Today's Hitlers are here. They don't wear the twisted crucifix of the swastika, but the cross in its familiar form. They are already preaching their propaganda. And it's being swallowed eagerly by many. Even people you know.
