Merit-bound Alley

In response to the letter that I wrote about here, I’ve sent the following to the Obama campaign:

Subject: Do not bow to Bishop Council Nedd

Senator Obama,

I am a strong supporter of your campaign, and I am also an atheist. I have read in a recent article on CNS News that Bishop Council Nedd of the non-profit organization In God We Trust is urging you to denounce a billboard rented by the Freedom From Religion Foundation which states “Imagine No Religion”. While I understand that Mr. Nedd may strenuously disagree with this message as is his right, he crosses a line to inaccurate hyperbole when he describes it as hate speech.

These billboards are out there only to counter the message of the overwhelming number of billboards advocating a religious message with one simple request: Imagine a world where the conflicts of religion do not exist.

To cater to Mr. Nedds demand would show that mere opposition to a religious belief can be condemned as hate, and would strike a cowardly blow to the free exchange of ideas that is protected in our Bill of Rights. It would shake my considerable faith in you as a progressive agent of change, and send the message that you value the will of the conservative Christians more than you do the Constitution of the United States.

I would like to conclude by drawing your attention to an advertising campaign started by In God We Trust in reaction to the FFRFs billboards. They simply state, “Why do Atheists Hate America?” and, as they group together all atheists as hateful and unpatriotic, is a clear example of real hate speech. You can find information about this horrendous move here: http://www.ingodwetrustusa.org/atheists.html

Yes, we atheists want our views heard, but that is because of our love for this country, not in spite of it.

Thank you for the opportunity to contact you on this important issue.

Warm regards,
Joseph J. Madjeski
Newark, DE
Yes, We Can!

Likely, it will never be read, but I tried!

CNS news reports that In God We Trust, an non-profit group that states that “Atheists hate America” and lists on its Outrages page such horrors as Charles Barkley having the gall to call conservative Christians “Fake Christians”, has sent a letter to presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama urging him to denounce a billboard in Denver that state “Imagine No Religion”.

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