You're an Atheist? I'll pray for you...

 I don't hear that very much anymore.  It was more when I lived in a small town.  I also just don't tell people about my religious affiliations.  I don't feel like it's important.  The problem is that I live in Texas.

 

My side of the family all believe in god, but don't really go to church (except my mom).  My wife's side of the family are a mix of Pentecostal and Assembly of God.  Her grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc go to church every time the doors open.  Some of them even go to a Bible College instead of one of the many fine Trade Schools and Universities in Texas.  My wife probably qualifies for as an Agnostic.  

Why did I choose this way?  I don't think I need religion to help me be a good person.  I can explain how/why everything written up in the holy books happened.  I can go into intricate detail about most of it. I can probably even recite the entire Eucharist, from memory.  I grew up Episcopalian.  

Well, I believe in Science way too much to have a faith.  I don't think god had anything to do with how we went to the moon, advances in medicine, making better cars, giving the word access to the internet, or anything else.  Human ingenuity did all of this.  There is no god.

Does this mean I hate anyone who is religious?  No.  I have no right to pass judgement on people for believing in something.  They might think being a Christian makes them a good person.  They might think that living a clean life, not drinking and not dressing provocatively keeps Allah happy with them.  They may also just be hypocrites who drink and fuck around every Friday and Saturday then go to Church on Sunday to tell people how to live their lives.  I really just don't care.  

Politics can be fun, no matter how much you hate them and try to avoid.  The moment someone finds out that I don't believe in a higher power, they pass several judgements on me.  The most common is that I'm "Un-American."  How American could I get?  I'm proud of our military.  I support the police.  I'm listening to an "Old Country" radio station right now.

What sounds like I'm not a bad American?  Our country was founded on the belief that religion and government shouldn't mix.  The reason for this was how fucked up the English government was due to the the monarchs worrying about God and church.  Most of our founding fathers were Deist, Agnostic or Atheist.  This wasn't supposed to be a "Christian Country."  A Christian Country turns into a bunch of assholes hating anyone that isn't Christian.  We've been to war over this a few times.  Why can't we just all leave each other alone when it comes to our faith, or lack of one?

 

I talked myself out of joining the Army at 18 due to 9-11 and not wanting to go to Afghanistan.  This was one of the deciding factors in making me an Atheist.  I saw a bunch of Arab Extremists attacking the U.S. over religious beliefs.  My family all responded by openly trash talking anyone who was Arab.  I even participated a little.  I remember thinking before saying something ignorant "Wait.  This isn't how to handle this.  Stop."  I haven't said anything mean about Arabs since then.   Several years later, I remembered that while trying to decide that leaving my religious beliefs behind was the right thing to do.  

About 10 years ago, maybe a little less, I attended a military funeral in my home town.  I didn't go inside, but I was there to help form a wall of people to keep a group of Christian Extremists out.  They'd planned to picket because "God Hates Soldiers!"  There were several hundred of us showed to do this.  I might have been the only Atheist in the crowd.  I didn't go because I felt it was "God's Work" to keep Westboro Baptist Church from bothering this poor kid's family and friends.  I went because it's the right thing to do.  I went to honor a fallen soldier.  WBC didn't bother to show up, despite posting on their website that they'd be there.  

Are Westboro Baptist Church and the Taliban the same thing?  Yes.  They're both racist, prejudice, people who hate others for no the same reason.  If you look at their beliefs, it's pretty much identical, except for using the word God instead of Allah.  WBC is "Un-American."  I'm not...

 

So, do you know an Atheist, Agnostic, etc?  Did someone come out of the "No God Closet" to you?  What did you say to them?  Did you offer to pray for them?  It's a nice sentiment, but, from personal experience, it makes them uncomfortable.  

 

They don't want or need your prayers.  They don't want or need you to tell them about Jesus, Moses or Muhammad.  As long as they're not being a dick about how they told you, just leave them alone and let them live their life.  If they're being a dick, think for a sec.  "Are you a dick to them and constantly trying to tell them about your faith until they got sick of it?"  If so, stop doing that.  If they're just being a dick, tell them not to be a dick.

Did learning that your friend, whom you've known for years and years, doesn't believe in God make you want to no longer associate with them?  That makes you a bad person for not accepting others.  I'm lucky enough that none of my friends try to push their beliefs on me and, out of respect, I don't push my lack of beliefs on them.  What people want to believe is their business.

Wanna know something funny?  Muhammad was once the most common name in the world.  It might still be.  It's also kind of nice to get to sleep in on Sunday, or go get pancakes while everyone is in church.

Thanks for listening,

The Atheist, Gun Owning, Bambi Eating, Slightly Democratic Guy Next Door.

Me vs Guns, Family, Politics, and Living in Texas

 So, I'm an oddity in my family.  I think I'm the only one that doesn't like Donald Trump.  I lean just barely to the left of center.  People say I'd be a Libertarian.  I looked into it.  I dislike too much of what they think.  I guess you'd call me a Slight Democrat.    

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Does this political affiliation really matter?  Do I still get along with my family?  Do I still have friends?  Do I hate everyone that wants to do anything related to hunting, fishing, shooting, etc?  

In order:  

Depends on who I'm talking to.  I don't actually discuss my political views with all that many people.  I don't think it's right to force my beliefs on others.  I also, generally, don't worry about what's going on with the government.

 

I don't discuss politics with the family, but I don't really get along with most of them due to differing opinions on lots of stuff.  I'm different than a lot of them.  They're slow to adopt technology.  They don't like replacing things.  I even tend to be an asshole when it comes to them not wanting to buy a new phone every couple of years or some of them still having a CRT TV.  So, in the last couple of years, I've just stopped trying and I don't talk to them very often.  I'm more likely to talk to my mom and brother than anyone else.

 

Yep, I have a couple of friends.  Back to politics.  They're Texans, so they tend to like Trump and the Republican Party.  I don't like politics, and we're all adults, so we can still get along, hang out together, etc without talking about it.

 

Did I mention that I'm from Texas?  I grew up eating a lot of wild meat.  I've shot my fair share of dove, even a couple of deer.  I can tell you a whole bunch of ways to cook a big hunk of Bambi.  I own a hunting rifle, a shotgun and two handguns.  I'd love to be able to go deer hunting this fall, but I can't afford it.  I've even sent in the paperwork for my CHL/LTC.  I should have that back in the next week or two.

So, how does a Trump Hater live in Texas?  It's not hard.  I live in the city, I work for a company that dislikes the guy.  I married a woman that shares my thoughts and beliefs on him.  I actually see him as a racist idiot.  

 

Oh, I'm an Atheist, too. We'll discuss not believing in a higher power in Texas later.

You'd be surprised how many times in a day I see something posted to Facebook about the election.  I've put most of my family on snooze for the last few months to keep from seeing annoying things like "Kamala is an abortion supporter." and "MAGA".  I also snooze people that post anything Democrat.  I just don't really like the idea of the two party system.  I even closed my FB account for the final week of election season in 2016.  I might do the same thing this year.

 

I'm not an anarchist...

 

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"Why do you hate Trump so much?"  I've been asked that before and it's pretty simple.  Donald Trump sees me as inconsequential for a few reasons:

1.  Most importantly, I'm not rich.

2.  I'm not a racist.

3.  I'm a firm believer in Science.

With those three things in mind, I disagree with just about everything he's said in the last few months.  I understand the need to wear a mask when I go out in public and don't think it's a violation of my rights.  I also agree that it's okay for the city to have a policy stating that it's required.  I follow this policy.  I support my local government in this decision.  

I think his policies on immigration are akin to human rights violations.  Who in their right fucking mind thinks it's okay to separate a parent and child and keep them apart for months on end while you decide whether you want to deport them or not?  You know what this causes?  It causes a bunch of sad and crying kids...  Would you think this was the right way to handle this situation if they were white instead of  Hispanic???  I can't believe that anyone thought this was right, much less our president. 

He tries to dismiss anything scientific.  He denies that climate change is a thing.  He doesn't care about how bad we treat our planet.  He doesn't believe the data, that quite clearly shows how our average temperature has gone up by, or things like the ice shelf melting in northern Canada and Greenland.  

He's terrible about foreign relations.  He used the term "shit hole countries".  That's not very diplomatic.  That's just hateful.  Have I mentioned that border wall yet?  Holy shit...  That's not really ever going to happen.  He keeps calling it "The China Virus..."

 

Do I worship Obama?  No...  I think he's a much better person than Trump.  I think his ideas of making healthcare affordable, stopping racism and investing in Science are a awesome.  As a person, I think he's amazing.  These are the parts of the Democratic Party that I like.  These are what make me lean slightly to the left.  It's not just Obama.  

 

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Do you care about any of this?  I don't know.  Don't actually care if you do or not.