Armchair Atheists

Campus Report ^ | November 14, 2008 | Jesse Masai

[bs9021]

Armchair Atheists

by: Jesse Masai, November 14, 2008

Americans who do not believe in God have decided it’s time to give President-elect Barack Obama his first memo: the Department of Defense ought not speak for God.

At a press conference in Washington, the DC Secular Coalition for America’s director Lori Lipman said that the country’s atheists, humanists and freethinkers were suffocating under an air of pro-Christian bias within the military.

In an eight-page open letter, Lipman asked President-elect Obama to protect her members from what she described as Christian discrimination, sectarianism, theocracy and an invisibility that she said had long been visited upon non-Christians.

“Atheists and others with no religious affiliation make up 21 per cent of the U.S Armed Forces, and yet they suffer harassment, discrimination and proselytizing in a military increasingly dominated by a powerful minority of evangelical Christians,” she said.

She argued that “other military personnel who do not hold a born-again Christian belief are similarly marginalized.” She proposed a new set of policy recommendations in a memo to President-elect Obama, seeking to influence his military.

Lipman asked for a new directive that explicitly identifies nontheistic personnel as protected, and specifically called for:

- Vetting of new appointments and promotions to ensure that appointees are committed “to fostering a secular military that protects the religious liberty and freedom of conscience of our soldiers.”

- A directive from Mr. Obama’s new Secretary of Defense that would “demonstrate your administration’s commitment to implement the change we need” and require all branches to update their regulations with regard to promoting religion over non-religion, proselytizing, discrimination and the role and training of chaplains.

- A survey of military personnel “in order to determine the pervasiveness of the problems of religious discrimination and proselytizing.”...

[BlueStateBlues]

Don’t ask don’t tell

[jjm2111]

Um. okay. Good luck with that.

[stevem]

“Atheists and others with no religious affiliation make up 21 per cent of the U.S Armed Forces, and yet they suffer harassment, discrimination and proselytizing in a military increasingly dominated by a powerful minority of evangelical Christians,” she said.

When I read drivel like this I harken back to something I read long ago from one of the few surviving U-boat captains. He recalled many atheistic Hitler-youth joining the submarine service starting in late 1942 and 1943, well before they lost the Battle of the Atlantic. Great Caesar's Ghost, he though, what an arrogant crowd. Arrogant that is, until the depth charges began to explode all around them, at which time they became whimpering children on their knees paryong to GOD(!) to spare them at which time their ways would change!!! I suspect when cowards behave that way, when the danger passes, promises are quickly forgotten.

I was a practicing Catholic during my days in the Navy. No one encouraged me, nor did anyone object. I think it requires a cowardly atheist to find fault with the way the military handles religion.

[Arkansas Toothpick]

There are no atheists in foxholes.

When my dad was in the Army (1960’s), he said that he was NOT surrounded by Christians; indeed, he experienced hostility and derision for choosing to attend chapel services on Sunday.

[LiteKeeper]

STRAW MAN ALERT!

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Actually I agree that the military has to continually push to insist on the respect of everyone’s legitimate beliefs. This is solely because it is essential to maintain good order and discipline.

I have seen both abuses and extremely honorable behavior when it comes to this. As such, I have little tolerance for discriminatory behavior in this regard, as well as disrespecting the beliefs of others.

The vast majority of military personnel also recognize this, neither wanting to have their beliefs abused, nor willing to abuse the beliefs of others.

But, as with race, some are just incapable of controlling themselves.

[stevem]

When my dad was in the Army (1960’s), he said that he was NOT surrounded by Christians; indeed, he experienced hostility and derision for choosing to attend chapel services on Sunday.

This is interesting. I was Navy in the early 1970's. Everyone knew I was a practicing Catholic, in fact an ex-seminarian. I never experienced hostility, never. I don't recall any derision, either, although I may have been too naive to notice.

On the other hand, I wasn't any part of an evangelist, I just went my own way.

These days it seems to me it isn't the religious who are threats to anyone. Most conservative religious I know are live-and-let-live types. I see the atheists who are constantly trying to force others to live as they do. I guess that is the way with all liberals. No one ever tries to tell others how to live with greater zeal than a liberal.

This harkens back to the GREAT Paul Newman scene in The Hustler.

He said to George C. Scott, "...you're all dead inside, and you can't live unless you make everything dead around you." That is what I see when I look at the way atheists and other liberals live.