Deleted a post

A few days ago I deleted an old post which I wrote about Tony Snow. The subject was how arrogant I found his claims of being blessed by God when others who suffered from cancer didn't get the same treatment as he claimed to have gotten from his god. The post gained a tremendous amount of attention from Christians who made outrageous statements about my atheism and how I really believed in God but was just angry, sad, pissed off, wanted to be immoral, etc. It was amazing how stupid the comments were getting. I exercised my free will and deleted the offending post. Good riddance, I say.

At this point in time in my atheism I'm not interested in finding God anymore. I've spent a large amount of time searching and he still hasn't turned up so I want to focus my attention to other things. I'm very interested in my Freethought groups here in the Houston area and have gotten to know a lot of wonderful atheists. I also am involved the the Humanists of Houston and want to be more active in my community on a secular level. So far my activism has been to educate my friends what an atheist is and that they have been playing tennis with one for many years. The response has been positive.

To the Christians out there who think atheists are mad at God and that's why we don't believe, you are so wrong it's not even funny. We don't believe because there is no evidence. Nothing, nada, zilch, zero. Accept it and move on. Let's talk about other things like abortion rights and poverty. How about the Iraqi war and the economy? I want to talk about things that matter in this life right here and right now.

I'm still frustrated about my trip to Kansas and how I didn't seem to get anywhere with my family. Not that I expected anything, but I had hoped that things would go better. My mother and I have never had a connection which I now see on so many levels that, even though I gave up on her long ago, there is still no chance we will ever find common ground. At one time I had hoped that my sister and I could be friends but, for many of the same reasons, I don't ever see that ever happening. Both women are too judgmental, too sensitive, and too defensive for me to want to be around them for any length of time.

Funny thought: I wonder what they think of me?

I think I already know....

Back from Kansas

Yesterday I got back from visiting my mother and her husband in a god forsaken place called Goddard, Kansas. It's just west of Wichita on Highway 54. I don't think I'll be going back.

One strange thing I noticed was the political/religious signs that some families posted on the edge of their sprawling wheat fields. Mostly about their disdain for murdering babies, opps, I mean legalized abortion. I wanted to take a picture of a particularly amusing one but my religious and highly moral sister (who was driving) refused to pull over. The reason? She didn't want me to make fun of these people and their views on the Internet. So I figured I'd do it anyway sans picture.

It was funny to see signs condemning legalized abortion and condemning contraception. Yep, you saw that right - signs condemning contraception. Just squirt those Catholic babies out as fast as you can conceive 'em.

So there, I didn't need a goddamn picture to make fun of stupid views based on stupid dogma.

More on the rest of the trip later.....

How to respond to a friend

I got a goddy email from a friend. It was in good taste and not at all over the top. She's a good friend and has a reputation of being a sweet and thoughtful person so I sent this in response:

Hi Judy, thanks for the video and the message. It was nice.

Did you know that I'm an atheist? Have been for a very long time. Emails like this are no big deal, I just thought I'd let you know.

Love and hugs,
Summer

I sent an email with similar wording to an aunt who sent me a goddy email. Her response was that she loved me anyway and that my differing views didn't matter. I wrote her back letting her know that I appreciated her feelings.

There's hope for my family after all!

Trip to visit fundy family

Starting July 17th thru July 24 I'll be in Kansas visiting my mother and her new husband's family. I'll be going by car with my religious sister and atheist brother, along with a nephew and niece. Several months ago when my sister brought it up I thought it sounded like a good idea, now I'm having some reservations.

At first I thought I was feeling anxious because, not only do I not know that side of my extended family; they are conservative Catholics and I'm sure they know I'm an atheist. I don't know how religious or how conservative they are, but if I use their acceptance of my mother as a guide, I would guess very religious and very conservative.

With more thought about my situation I realize it's not the people I'm nervous about. I will be away from the comfort of my home for 7 days around people I don't know. Yeah, I get anxious about going away on vacation, but at least I know I'll have my own bathroom and the privacy I value. Going away for over 3 days to a place I'm not sure of is scary and upsetting to me and I'm big enough to admit it.

Now I've got to work on "getting so over it!"

Email about Mrs. Obama

I received an email from a cousin about Mrs. Obama not being as good a person as Mrs. McCain. It stated some great things that Mrs. McCain as done for children as a result of being very wealthy. Something I wish I could do. The last line of the email then attacked Mrs. Obama because she hasn't done these wonderful things.

It pissed me off so I wrote my cousin and told her why that email was wrong on many levels. Apparently I wasn't the only one. Her email today stated that we'll all just have to agree to disagree and that she wasn't going to write anymore about politics.

Fine, but that pissed me off too. Here the letter I wrote back in response:

Just some thoughts about the mantra "let's just agree to disagree." Sometimes it's good to back off and let things go; we are all different and we have different opinions. Fair enough. I find this mantra to be a show stopper for the wrong reasons and I'll explain.

The majority of the email about Mrs. McCain was interesting and informative. If someone was interested in her it would give them the motivation to either confirm or disprove the subject or just learn more about her. The last part of that email implied that Mrs. Obama was not as noble because she hasn't done as much as the wealthy Mrs. McCain. I don't know how many people commented on this email but my only problem was the attack on Mrs. Obama. It was underhanded and immoral. If we have to agree to disagree on this then there is a serious problem with some people's moral compass. We need to call attention to this kind of back stabbing if we are to have a civil presidential election.

I also think that the mantra "let's just agree to disagree" causes some to disregard important opinions and information. For example: a few years ago I was for the death penalty. As a Texan and a Republican, I felt if someone killed another person in an especially horrific way they deserved to die. I got into a respectable debate with someone on the Internet about it and he had some interesting things to say. Instead of shoving my fists in my ears and saying, "I do not agree and we'll have to leave it at that," I listened. I heard things that made me uncomfortable so I checked it out. Now for many reasons and science based evidence, I'm strongly against the death penalty. Same for the Iraq War. I got into a discussion with a friend and she said a few things that got me to think and to research. I have changed my mind. In fact, I've changed my mind a few times about this but now I'm in favor of stopping this war ASAP and convinced the public was lied to for reasons we may never know.

In conclusion I say let it all hang out, but be prepared to take the heat for it. Keep an open mind and perhaps you just might learn a thing or two. BTW, I love it when people disagree with me! I learn much from the experience and one of the things I've learned is that I'm not always right. Good life lesson....

Peace!
Summer

New site for Atheists

From vjack and Poodles I've discovered this new site for atheists to gather and exchange ideas. It's a lot like MySpace but cooler. It's got a great name too: Atheist Nexus.

Kinda got that Star Trek geeky feeling to it. Love it!

I'm using my real name there. Check it out and add me as a friend.