On July 29th, 2012 we organized our first public display of real action. Around 50 people gathered together in downtown Wilmington, NC to march for the Separation of Church and State. This event was in part a reactionary movement to Amendment 1, we decided that it was time to make out voices heard on the matter. Whether the audience wanted to listen or not, we made our stance clear. Although this was important and done in an effective manner, we also managed to have quite a bit of fun along the way! This event was sponsored by the Cape Fear Humanists and Freethinkers group, and it's success is ultimately what led to this project and blog!
Below are some links to the resulting news coverage and photographs from the march:
534 Words for Humanity
Samuel J. West
I am of the seemingly unpopular
opinion that a group of people from all different walks of life banding
together for one cause is a good thing.
This is precisely what happened on July 29th during the
Wilmington march for the separation of church and state. This event could not have gone any better and
I am more than pleased with the turn out, general message, and dedication of
all of the participants. However, we are
receiving some flak from of our ideological adversaries for being “annoying,”
or “intolerant”. I believe that this is
a clear indication that we have accomplished the goal set for this event, which
was to raise awareness and to open a dialog.
So what
now? What now indeed. What we need now in this country, more than
ever, are people who are willing to stand up for humanity. In many cases this means upsetting those
close to you, and even maybe risking some type of personal damage. This fear is natural and totally justifiable,
but we must not allow fear of social repercussions to deter us from remaining
actively progressive. If we as humans
are ever going to clean up this massive mess that we have ALL helped to make,
then the time for silence is over. I
hope that this message will resound in the hearts of those who accept it, we
must continue to act openly and aggressively.
Now,
some of you may be curious about my language here, I am using the term
“aggressive,” in an ideological sense.
As such, that we must continue to carry our torch where others can see
it, we must no longer be ashamed of our belief structure. This is essential to not only the happiness
and fulfillment of our individual lives, but it is also necessary to the happiness
of future generations. Although we risk
becoming politically incorrect, or being seen as intolerant, we must ignore
this type of pathos charged rhetoric and realize that it is nothing other than
a diversion intended to derail progress.
Ultimately, what I am suggesting here is that human happiness should
forgo any political, religious, or moral hang ups that anyone may have.
In
short, will it offend your very religious friend when you explain to them that
you think their entire belief system is a lie?
Yes, it will. Every damn time. But for every 10 friends you offend, one will
see reason to your argument, and the task of fixing this world must occur in
such a manner, one mind at a time.
Otherwise, we will be working against one another for the rest of our
time on this planet. So to those of you
waiting for the “right time” to come out of that closet, the time is now. Atheists are one of the fastest growing
minorities of this country; it is time that we were no longer a minority at
all. If this means pissing off the rest
of humanity to save it, so be it.
I don’t want to change the world by outlawing religion and
labeling it a monster. I want to change
the world by changing minds and labeling religion a cultural misstep. Won’t you join me?
Truthorconsequences120@gmail.com
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