September 11: To Burn The Koran, Or Not

Originally I was thinking that a better demonstration on 9-11 would be to toss a copy of every major religious text on the fire as a statement against religious extremism of any type. No matter how you slice it, the people who flew the planes into our buildings were religious extremists, and those acts are a great example of what religion is capable of if it is twisted and corrupted properly.

After the firestorm (pun intended) over this plan began, I began to think over and over that the fear of terrorism was going to be the sentiment that carried the day. The sad part is that when a provocative demonstration takes place and the reaction is that cities and people are burned, the focus becomes the provocative demonstration instead of remaining squarely on the actual perpetrators of the violence. That is not the way it is supposed to work. When the Westboro Baptists are spewing their brand of hate, and one of them gets punched in the face, it is the puncher who has crossed the line and broken the law. Free speech means being tolerant of speech that is the most repugnant, otherwise, it is not free speech anymore.

Once we bow to the terrorists, and they become sure that we will do whatever they want by threatening to burn people and cities, then they will be the ones in control and we are lost. Backing away from this admittedly ill conceived plan is the first step in that direction.

The violent radicals are dictating the behavior of the civilized, and we will regret it.

Moralizing

A huge part of morality is taking personal responsibility to use whatever influence you have to positively affect society. Sometimes that means volunteering for a good cause, and sometimes that means speaking out against injustices in society.

If you fail to do so, then you are tacitly condoning societal injustices.

This was my comment response to Hemant's "rant".

Atheism has no sects that do this!

Oregon faith-healing parents fight to get baby back, face criminal charges

The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office obtained photographs of 7-month-old Alayna May Wyland that show the fast-growing mass of blood vessels that may cause blindness in her left eye. Her parents, Timothy and Rebecca Wyland (holding Alayna) were ordered to hand Alayna over to state officials, and could also face criminal charges.

OREGON CITY -- A Beavercreek couple who left their infant daughter's fate to God rather than seek medical treatment for a mass that grew over her left eye will face charges of first-degree criminal mistreatment.

Prosecutors revealed Thursday during a custody hearing that a grand jury has indicted Timothy and Rebecca Wyland, members of Oregon City's Followers of Christ church.

The Wylands' 7-month-old daughter, Alayna, was placed in state custody earlier this month after child-welfare workers received a tip about the untreated and ballooning growth. Doctors said that the condition could cause permanent damage or loss of vision.

The Wylands were indicted within the past few days and probably will be arraigned next week, said Colleen Gilmartin, the deputy district attorney handling the custody case in juvenile court.

Under Oregon law, it is a crime for parents to intentionally and knowingly withhold necessary and adequate medical attention from their children. First-degree criminal mistreatment is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

The Wylands and their church reject medical care in favor of faith-healing -- anointing with oil, laying on of hands, prayer and fasting. The parents testified at a juvenile court hearing last week that they never considered getting medical attention for Alayna.

According to court documents, Rebecca Wyland anointed Alayna with oil each time she changed the girl's diaper and wiped away the yellow discharge that seeped daily from the baby's left eye.

You can find the full story here

The next time someone asks you to cite an example of the harm religion can cause, remember this little girl.

Mojave National Preserve Cross

The controversial cross erected to honor American war dead in the Mojave National Preserve has been stolen.

I have been following this story quite some time, and I was very disappointed recently when the Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing it to remain in place. I am confident that the legal battle over this symbol is not over.

The Supreme Court ruled only that the government does not have an obligation to eradicate all religious symbols. The proponents of this symbol have twisted and circumvented Constitutional restrictions through many various methods, over several decades, in order to keep it there.

Those things will be challenged in the future, and ultimately, I am confident that this will be a symbol that will be removed lawfully in time.

Vandalism is not the way to do it. The people who stole it are guilty of a crime and should be punished appropriately. This is not the way to advance the secular cause.

Mojoey's Hypocrisy Watch on Google Maps

 I read the hypocrisy watch stories every day. After a while, sadly they all start to run together. It is very startling to see these entries presented in a different format:

 Mojoey's Hypocrisy Watch on Google Maps


Mojoey's blog entry

As you can see, it is a heartbreaking plague that is spread all across our country.

To me, this is part of the damage that religion actively does to our society. How many charitable efforts by religious organizations does it take to balance their ledger when events like these are occurring every day? To the victims who were abused in the name of the highest power in their world, is there anything that can offset their betrayal and pain?

Cecil Bothwell, Atheist, Elected in South Carolina, Wins Award

This story keeps getting bigger and bigger. It is sad that it even makes news. Such is the state or our country at the moment.

The Cecil Bothwell-atheism story just keeps getting bigger all the time.

The latest? American Atheists Inc., a national nonprofit educational group, has named Bothwell its Courageous Elected Official of 2009. Yep, Cecil is now a CEO.

Bothwell will speak and be honored at the organization's national convention April 2-4 in Newark, N.J.

Ed Buckner, president of AA, said the group created the award specifically to honor Bothwell and his “courageous stance.”

Bothwell, 59, became a councilman earlier this month, swearing an affirmation rather than an oath with any reference to God. Conservative activists said he could not be seated because the N.C. Constitution does indeed state: “The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.”

The U.S. Constitution and case law that preclude any religious tests to hold office trump the state Constitution, though. So Bothwell is in to stay, for four years.

Regarding the award, Bothwell said he's “enormously honored to be recognized in this way, but also sad that simple honesty about who I am and what I believe seems unusual or worthy of particular note.” He said he's got a couple hundred e-mails and calls and even seen himself hailed as a hero.

“And all I have done is be true to myself,” he said. “It doesn't feel particularly courageous. It just seems normal, and I'd hope that all elected officials would do the same."

I love his take on all of this. He doesn't see the fuss because he is just being honest and true to himself. Hopefully, all of this publicity will encourage those elected officials who share his atheism to come out of the closet and stand up for what they believe, or don't believe!

To me, this is a very positive start. I will be looking for more of the same in the future.

The entire article can be found here.