Atheist Convention

Just when it seems like there are so many bible-whomping, fetus-fetishizing, women-hating, gay-bashing nitwits south of the 49th that I all but give up on the entire country, something happens to make me breathe a deep sigh of relief and realize that it's still (however tenuously) tethered to reality.

No doubt encouraged by people like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, atheism finally seems to be coming into its own. Increasingly, people are not only unafraid to cop to atheism, but wear it proudly. This weekend in Virginia, there was an Atheists' Convention, covered by ABC. After years of being dominated by the spiraling madness of fundamentalist religion, it's good to see the media finally paying attention to more rational voices:

"A large convention of atheists gathered today in Virginia, where men, women and children eagerly proclaimed their belief God does not exist.

While their views still may be the minority in the country, atheists have become more vocal and visible in recent years." [...]

"Some atheists said their profile has increased because of a rise in religious extremism, like the Islamic fundamentalism behind the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the rise of the Christian right in the United States."

We've come a long way, but there's longer still to go. With any religiously-related media report, the "comments" section is at once amusing, illuminating and terrifying. This is one of the shorter entries:

"I AM A BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN. IF YOUR RIGHT, YOU HAVE EVERYTHING TO LOSE. IF I AM RIGHT, YOU STILL HAVE EVERYTHING TO LOSE, UNLESS YOU COME TO THE SAVING GRACE OF THE HEAVENLY FATHER WHO LOVES YOU AND WANTS TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. IT'S YOUR CHOICE-YOU ARE GIVEN THE FREE WILL TO MAKE THAT CHOICE AND NO ONE IS FORCING YOU. JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD AND A LITERAL HEAVEN AND A LITERAL HELL, DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY DON'T EXIST. OH, AND BY THE WAY-WHY DO ATHEIST HAVE "AFTER RAPTURE MINTS" IF THEY DON'T BELIEVE THAT GOD EXISTS? THE BIBLE TELLS US OF THE RAPTURE AND IT IS CREATED BY GOD.MJD"

Perpetually caps-locked, spellcheck and "return" key-challenged though they may be, when they have Proof Of God like "Rapture Mints", fundies aren't about to stop yelling. It's up to us to keep yelling back.