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| What Atheists Should Be Doing |
| My site, in its current state, seems to lack focus. This bothers me more than anyone else. I've always said that my site is by an atheist, for other atheists, and is only intended to expose and defend this point of view rather than promote it. And although I have been critical of activists, I've never really stated my ideas of what the modern atheist should be. There are many questions about what we should do. What attitude should we take? How should we answer questions from inquiring yet non-atheistic minds? How far is too far? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll pop? And finally: When should we reveal our atheism to others? What I'm about to reveal to you in the code that I live by. Of course, these are just my opinions, and you may very well have your own ideas of what an atheist should do. But even if you do, I think that everyone should at least take these concepts into consideration, for I feel that they are valid points, and I'll tell you why. 1. Don't hold religion in contempt. This is very tempting to do, as we all know how damaging religion can be. However, being openly unfavorable of religon (or especially certain religions) only reinforces the theists' view of atheists as being crabby, embittered people. 2. Don't be belligerent. This is probably the single biggest mistake that atheists today make. Trust me, it gets you nowhere. Madalyn Murraye O'Hair and Michael Newdow are NOT examples for the atheist community. While activists may accomplish an infinitesimal victory every now and then, in the end they are only the atheists by which the theists of the world judge all others. Michael Newdow, for example, knew damn well that he would not get "under God" taken out of the pledge of allegiance, and succeeded only in making fundamentalists hate us even more. On top of that, the pledge was a really insignificant thing to target when you consider all the other bigger problems we face. How about professing our trust in the Judeo-Christian deity everytime we buy something? 3. Don't use your children to fight your battles. If you are going to be belligerent (hey, some of us are just too agressive to sit around and wait for acceptance), don't use your children against their will. Just ask the afore-mentioned Michael Newdow or Madalyn Murraye O'Hair about this one. Just as you shouldn't force your children to accept your belief (or non-belief), you shouldn't force them to fight your fights for you. Using children as a shield for sympathy is a very low thing to do. The end doesn't justify the means. 4. Don't be complacent: Yeah, I know I told you not to be belligerent, but you shouldn't let theists walk all over you, either. If you're in a situation where someone around you is openly bashing atheists, make yourself heard. While pursuing things such as the pledge of allegiance and our national motto may be a little extreme (it's not like either is that important in our day to day lives), other issues like the Ten Commandments being posted everywhere to influence the decisions of our courts are VERY significant. 5. Educate yourself: Trust me on this one, I've lost too many arguments in the distant past from a lack of education. Understand the basic concepts behind all the major religions, and study them. You might even find a religion that makes sense to you, but even if you don't, you should at least know why they're wrong. Read their major texts. And also understand the basic concepts behind atheism (you'd be amazed at how many people don't). 6. Don't proudly trumpet your nonbelief: Religion as well as atheism aren't good subjects to bring up in polite company. Don't tell anyone who doesn't want to know, you'll only look like a fanatic. But this brings us to the next one, which is..... 7. Don't hide it: Don't be afraid to say you're an atheist when the subject does come up. Also don't try to skirt the issue by using bullshit terms like "secular humanist". This will only lead to confusion. Don't be afraid of the word "atheist", and try to be polite to anyone who asks you about it. If the subject comes up around a friend who doesn't know you're an atheist (especially if he or she has known you for awhile), they may be surprised, but might even change their opinion of other atheists based on your actions. Or at least they won't lump us together as 25 million Michael Newdows. 8. Don't go on liberal guilt trips: I for one am not a liberal, but many atheists are. Don't get so caught up in issues that don't even directly apply to you (racial minorities, abortion) that you forget the issues that do directly apply to you. I even heard a story recently of an atheist politician who was criticized by other atheists for running against a black man for a political office. This advice applies to more than just atheists: Don't put your extreme political views ahead of your common sense. I've decided to call this "The Atheist's Credo", and I'm actually big-headed enough to think that it might influence someone. But this in turn leads me to a final piece of advice: 9. Form your own opinions: Never let anyone else do your thinking for you. That includes me. Take this article, like the rest of this website, for what it's worth. But don't believe everything everyone else tells you, otherwise you might as well be theistic. |