Cheap shots used against atheists

The very strange way, and perhaps unique in the Western world, that religion is intermingled into American politics allows atheists to be slammed in various ways. These ways are completely ridiculous, but nevertheless, they work for that crowed of Nationalistic goobars that we have on the Right. No, I'm not saying all Conservatives fit that bill, but we can all admit that such people exist...

Take associating atheism with communism for example. When the USSR was the big, bad, enemy, we as Americans needed, rather, some of our leaders felt that we needed, a way to distinguish us from our enemies. That's when [simply-put] Ike decided to add "Under God" in the pledge. Yup, in the history of our nation, that phrase was added rather recently. You'd think that the further you went back to the beginning of America, the more religion you'd see in government, right? In many crucial ways, this isn't the case at all.

Anyway, via. some sort of bizarre guilt by association perhaps, atheists are still associated with communists in America by some. Of the current atheists that I speak with on a regular basis, I am likely the most left-leaning economically, or at least tied for that spot. Some are free-market radicals, others are every possible tick in between.

Left-leaning on my part doesn't mean I want pure socialism, I just think that certain socialist policies in our mixed economy are very good things, and that we should have a few more. There is lots of room on the left - we could go as far as Sweden, for example, and not approach loons like Chavez.

The problem atheists have is that many answers and responses to such absurd insinuations from the Right require some explaining. And, we know what happens then, don't we?

It's like debunking an evolution myth - if it takes more than two sentences of background material, the listener rolls his eyes and blocks you out. Complexity, it seems, is often associated with invalidity.

Anyway, here is an article I wrote recently that also touches on this:

http://www.useless-knowledge.com/1234/05dec/article025.html

Most of my writing isn't here!

Still in the process of moving - there is an issue with the new place that delayed our move, so naturally I've slacked off a bit and put off some packing too...

Most of what I write still goes to useless-knowledge.com. For example, here is an article I wrote about what I do to celebrate Christmas as an atheist, and how I feel about that whole "attack on Christmas" issue:

http://www.useless-knowledge.com/1234/05dec/article020.html

Here is an article I wrote about the lies from the Bush administration as I see them - some context on that: useless-knowledge has some pretty reasonable conservative writers at times, but it also has a few that can be pretty toxic. Toxic in that their writing builds and builds and builds anger until I feel no choice but to respond - I have no control over this, none, zip, zero! The gods themselves shed the poison from my system by forcing me to write. Here is such an article:

http://www.useless-knowledge.com/1234/nov/article398.html

Here is a tongue-in-cheek article about Thanksgiving as an atheist. The food stuff is real:

http://www.useless-knowledge.com/1234/nov/article389.html

Merry Christmas!