My wife is tired of my preoccupation with this effort. She doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. She is afraid of alienating friends and family. She believes I should keep my opinions and views to myself. What good can come from disrespecting and offending people? Why intrude my thoughts into other people’s lives, who are not interested in them, and do not want to hear them?
I should like to address this topic. But before launching into it, let me put something straight. I have no intention to disrespect or offend people. My intention is to tell the truth. There are some things which are true that some people do not want to be true. When I disrespect something, it is because it is false or dangerous, not because I lack respect for the person who might be offended. They are equally entitled to their views and opinions as I am.
When somebody says something that I do not agree with, it is up to me, not them, to be offended. If a reader should take offence at something I say, that is their right. But never, ever, assume that I am responsible for that reader’s viewpoint. That is their responsibility and perhaps those who introduced it to them.
If they cannot defend or justify their position, then they should make a sincere attempt to examine their beliefs objectively, to determine if they are valid, and not accuse me of bringing them to their attention. That’s a service not an assault. Should they honestly conclude that I am mistaken, they should tell me why, so I can correct my own position. I welcome that opportunity.
OK, let’s begin the explanation for why I write all this crap. What I am going to try is something called ‘role reversal’ and it can be a powerful technique for shifting the world view or perspective of the reader. I am going to posit an imaginary but not impossible, world for the reader. I am going to assume the reader is a typical, mainstream Christian, not particularly liberal or conservative, but able to stretch their imagination to the extent that they can understand the description I will now attempt.
You live in the USA with the same constitution and principles of freedom and equality. The demographics, however, are dramatically different. The population is overwhelmingly composed of non-religious people, humanists, free-thinkers, agnostics, atheists, or whatever. As a Christian, you represent approximately 7% of the nation. There are other religions, but collectively only amount to 2 or 3% more. Freedom of religion is still in effect and there are churches with congregations large enough to support them. There is widespread belief that many religious people are in the closet because they fear discrimination and persecution, but this cannot be verified by polls for obvious reasons.
Every day your children say or hear the Pledge of Allegiance which includes the phrase “one nation, without gods”. Your money has the inscribed motto “Proud to be Godless”. These changes were implemented in the early 1950’s by President Eisenhower after a failed attempt by the religious right to overturn the constitution and substitute the Ten Commandments and the Bible. The popular reaction was severe and led to the decline of religious sentiment in the nation.
There are a number of states with laws in effect that prohibit Christians from running for public office and make it illegal for them to give evidence in a court of law. None of these laws have been enforced since they are flagrantly unconstitutional and any attempt to do so would be laughed out of court. These laws remain on the books because no one gives it priority. Only Christians are effected, after all. But you know that some people were so arrogant and righteous that they believed they had the ‘right’ to draft such legislation.
It is not uncommon to encounter a roadside billboard similar to this:
CHRISTIANS ARE UN-AMERICAN
UN-AMERICAN IS TRAITOROUS
TRAITORS SHOULD BE SHOT
There was a recent media frenzy centered around a county clerk in Massachusetts who refused to issue marriage licenses to Christians citing his secular belief that doing so would amount to producing more Christians and that violated his freedom of conscience as a believer in reason and evidence. This in spite of a recent Supreme Court decision that Christian couples have a constitutional right to marriage the same as secular couples. The clerk was cited for contempt of court and later released on the condition that he follow the law. An uneasy accommodation was the removal of the clerk’s name from the marriage documents, thereby eliminating the implication that the clerk approved of the union.
There are many secular bookstores that contain thousands of books promoting secular values and perspectives. Some of them demonize Christians as pagan deity worshippers. That they have no moral foundation and rely on ancient, primitive, and superstitious texts. That their lives are empty, without meaning and full of fantasy.
There are political movements under the general heading of ‘Restoring Freedom of Reason’ which is a euphemism hiding the real intent, which is to establish not freedom or equality but the privileging of reason over spiritual values.
The tax code allows exempt status for any non-profit entity. Secular organizations and charities are granted this status immediately and are not required to report any activity nor are they subject to audits or any oversight investigations. Religious entities are subject to severe vetting and justification before granting the exemption. Detailed accounting and reporting is mandatory to maintain this status.
That will do for the moment, believe me I have more!
Now, dear reader, if you can see yourself in this picture I have tried to paint, I ask you, would you be content to remain silent? Would you keep a low profile and accept the wisdom of the majority? Would you be reluctant to offend the sensibilities of people who do not regard you as an equal, a citizen, or a patriot?
It would not be appropriate to close this subject without clarifying a few points.
In constructing the Christian ‘nightmare’ above I have used actual events, issues and acts in American history. I have not elaborated or exaggerated any of them and have done my best to do no more than exchange the roles of the religious and the non-religious. If it appears bizarre or unbelievable to you, I can only agree.
I actually live in such a world and, having done so all my life, do not consider it a nightmare but just reality, reality in need of improvement.
The second point that should be emphasized is that I have not described how this nation would appear if it actually had a secular majority. In reversing the roles I have assumed that the secular majority behaved precisely as the religious majority had, when it had the power, the money and the votes. They wouldn’t.
I believe our nation, with the existing principles for freedom and equality, and with a controlling secular majority, would provide an environment within which any religion could thrive. I can defend this proposition, but that is a topic for another essay.