The Damned

It’s hard to believe that 45 years have passed since President Kennedy was assasinated. November 22 (which was November 23 here in the Philippines) is a day that those of us who were at least old enough to understand the world around them will not forget.It seems that in the last several years, much of what we have heard is the dark side of his personal life. But his flaws do not change the fact

NYCA MEETUP NOVEMBER 18, 2008 (TUESDAY) 7:00 PM
SUBJECT: Are Christmas or Hanukkah Celebrations Kosher for Atheists?

Do you give gifts at Christmas time or have a Christmas tree?
Are you being true to your Non-beliefs?
Do atheists long for Holiday rituals?
Can we separate Holiday fun from religious observation?
Where do we draw the line?

GROUP LEADER: NATTY ADAMS
WHERE: Stone Creek Bar & Lounge
140 East 27th St. (3rd & Lex.) - Back Room

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NYCA MONTHLY MEETING NOVEMBER 20, 2008 (THUR.) 6:30PM

SUBJECT: What Do Muslims Really Believe?
Hear the True Story from an Insider–A Muslim Chaplain Explains How Some Muslims May Have Become Terrorists

SPEAKER: SYED Z. SAYEED
Religious Life Adviser for Muslim students at Columbia University.

LOCATION: SLC CONFERENCE CENTER 352 SEVENTH AVE /16TH FLOOR (B/W 29/30th)

Cost: $5 Donation to help pay for room rental.

Posted by Don Kennedy

The recent historic election (and perhaps its outcome) is a strong affirmation of the concept E pluribus unum, or “Out of many, one”. Racial equality has always been part of the American ideal, but not always part of the American reality. The history of The United States of America shows that this has always been a land of opportunity for people from all other parts of the world – unless they were from a part of the world that is near the equator. It is truly ironic that so many citizens of a country whose motto idealizes the concept of inclusion cannot bring themselves to accept the concept of a leader with dark skin.

What I didn’t know was that E pluribus unum is no longer our national motto. It was replaced in 1956 by “In God We Trust”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_pluribus_unum#cite_note-0

It is not difficult to see a relationship between this change and our national epidemic of chronic racism. Despite having a leader whose skin was probably as dark as (or darker than) that of Obama, American Christians have historically been xenophobic and pro-slavery. Blame the Bible for both problems: a more scientific understanding of our origins than Genesis chapter 1 could go a long way to correcting the former; Exodus 21:2-11, 20-21 and Leviticus 25:44-46 explicitly endorse the latter.

Religious people are experts at ignoring parts of scripture. Moderate Christians ignore instructions to execute their rebellious children and neighbors who work on Sunday, moderate Muslims don’t think about chasing down “infidels”, and most developed countries have managed to override the biblical endorsement of genocide. I don’t delude myself into thinking that religious people are going to just stop believing the books they have come to love and cherish. I’m just wondering if it would not be too much to ask that they also ignore the parts that teach bigotry, misogyny, and gender-orientation bashing.

Who will “ask” religious citizens of the USA to take this step? Jesus is alleged to have done so at Matthew 7:1 (stop judging that you may not be judged) and at Luke 10:29-37 (parable of the good Samaritan), but apparently his request has been denied. Perhaps he shouldn’t have endorsed the Mosaic Law and all of its bigoted contents at Matthew 5:17, 18 - (sooner would heaven and earth pass away than for one smallest letter or a particle of a letter of pass away from this sacred law). If not Jesus, then whom?

I have a dream that one day, perhaps not so far off, Congress could reverse its position. The role of representatives in a representative democracy is to represent all of the people. “In God We Trust” is an abusive statement, tantamount to, for example, me declaring that “we” atheists or “we” New Yorkers endorse a particular candidate. “We” do not. Some of us like one, some another, and some neither. Not everyone has the same “god”, and the trust we have in our unprovable beliefs is, quite obviously, a personal matter that varies greatly from person to person. A government that represents people of various faiths and varying degrees of faith does not declare that “we” believe in and trust in the same god, religion, or philosophy.

SINCE WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT, can we not agree that our pluralistic nation is better served by our original motto, and leave religious dogmatism to individuals?

To put it mildly, I am over the moon that Barack Obama will be our next president and Joseph Biden our next vice-president, not only because their progressive positions defeated that angry old man McCain and his looney-tunes running mate Palin, but in doing so Obama has also placed the rabid Republicans in disarray—at least for the time being.Moreover, Obama's win as a black man represents a

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