From Wikipedia:
According to the rally's official website, the event had three main goals:
- To encourage attendees (and those who couldn’t attend) to "come of the closet" as secular Americans, or supporters of secular equality.
- To dispel stereotypes ("there is no one 'True Atheist' "). Participation by non-theists of all political persuasions, ethnicities, genders, and backgrounds was encouraged. The intent was to show that there are secular Americans in every major demographic.
- Legislative equality. Secular Americans should be permitted to run for public office and adequately represent non-theists, just as theists in office represent their constituents. Non-theists deserve a seat at the table just as theists do; the rally should put secular values "on the radar" of American voters.
Now, far be it from me to tell people they can't gather together and speak their minds (frankly, atheists have done a wonderful job bossing Christians around in this regard), but I really must ask one question:
What does this hope to accomplish?
So far as I can tell, the vast majority of Americans do not agree with the atheist agenda (yes, modern atheism has an agenda, and I'll say how I know this in a bit). Consider some examples from the rally itself:
-While the atheists may cross out In God We Trust on US currency, it has been ruled constitutional three times by the Supreme Court. In addition, 90% of Americans support leaving the phrase on money, according to a 2003 joint poll.
-While they may have left out "under God" when reciting the Pledge ( a phrase initially put in to differentiate America from godless communism, but I'm sure their admittance is just a coincidence), courts all around the nation do not agree with them. Not only does it not legally violate anyone's civil rights, but also apparently the atheists filing the case were not very "bright" as one of them, Michael Arthur Newdow, didn't bother to check to see if he could file on behalf of his underage daughter.
-At one point, military officers had attendees who were in the armed forces recite their so-called secular armed forces oaths. I say so called because the Uniformed Services Oath of Office clearly ends with "so help me God." Although I wasn't there, I wonder whether the oaths taken were the US Marines Rifleman's Creed since it does mention God.
Speaking of legal issues, one of the rally's sponsors can't even get its own legal stand right. According to the Freedom From Religion Foundation's purpose statement, the FFRF promotes "the constitutional principle of separation of state and church."
News Flash: "separation of state and church" is NOT in the US Constitution and never was.
While I agree 20,000 at one rally is a lot, that doesn't really compare to the number of people at (let's say) the March on Washington or Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally or even the Million Man March. In fact, this is doomed to fail in the long run. Why? Atheists would have you believe that they make up 16% of the US population; the truth is they don't even make up even 1% of all Americans.
Combine their constant lying about their numbers, their arrogant ignorance concerning God, the rise of religious vocations in America and key places like Africa and Asia, and their rudeness to anyone who disagrees with them, and I think we can all conclude the same thing....
Atheists are idiots.
