This issue has been an intensely-debated and personal item for me over the last few years. In a secular country whose currency reads “In God We Trust” and whose public schools are adopting Creationism as curriculum, it’s a difficult time to be a Freethinker. Even our Pledge of Allegiance was hijacked in 1954 by adding the words “under God,” a reflexive theocratic measure at the height of McCarthyism and the Red Scare. There are proponents of change, myself included, who would like to see the United States return to its roots - its real roots - by abolishing the federal endorsements of religion which run rampant in our modern government. But our efforts are thoroughly rebuffed by conservative activists who, ironically enough, would like to change our nation’s focus from one of secularism, fairness and equality to one of religious hysteria and theocracy. God does not run my country. His place is in your churches and Bible studies, but not on my greenback. Not in my Congress. The only hope now is that secularists, both those who profess a religion and who reject it, can steer our culture away from the right-wing aims, away from the theocratic nonsense we all decry when implemented in Muslim countries, and prevent a religious police state, prevent a Christian shari'ah from taking root in the land where “freedom of religion” is not only the norm but the rule. This is our country, too. Neoconservative media outlet Fox News is among the last bastions standing in my way - in our way - and I cannot tolerate intolerance.“Ninety percent of us believe that there is a god,” explains Fox News political commentator Glenn Beck to his ever-expanding audience, “Ninety percent! Yet we seem to be pushed around by ten percent.” Mr. Beck, here citing fabricated statistics as a lead-in to his story about prayer in public schools, has historically shown blatant and uncompromising disregard for the growing population of nonbelievers (i.e., atheists, agnostics and unaffiliated nonreligious) occupying the country he cares for so dearly. Framed by the imposing headline “Stealing of America” and flanked by the American flag, he continues, “And I don’t care, you don’t believe in god, you want to worship a broom, I could really care less” (Beck). Imagine another political pundit on another station using his airtime to mock the Christian faith, likening their strongly-held religious convictions to paganism or fairy-worship. Why, it would be near impossible for such an unapologetic commentator to dodge the lynch mobs on his way home from the studio! Then why is it possible for the hyper-conservative political “pundits,” including Glenn Beck and others, to get away with such hateful mockery and conspiratorial derision? Is it simply because their so-called media outlet, cable’s popular Fox News Channel, boasts a decades-old reputation of misinformation, one-sided smear campaigns, and propagandizing? Are Fox’s ideas indicative of a massive, Christianizing grassroots movement in this country? Beck’s comments are typical of Fox News’ longstanding campaign to marginalize and silence religious minorities - specifically atheists and Muslims - from the forum of political discourse in the United States.
As opposed to Beck’s claimed 90% supermajority, a recent Pew Research survey found that a respectable 16.1% of the country expressed non-belief or non-affiliation. Interestingly, however, they also discovered that zero senators or congressmen represented these beliefs in the federal legislative branch, with Jews, Catholics and Mormons being overrepresented by as much as a factor of 10 (Pew Research). And, to be honest, can you blame atheists for not even bothering to run for public office when statistics indicate a vast majority of Americans would consider voting for every other minority group candidate before an atheist (Paper)? Whether Beck actually believes that various forms of theism have a ninety percent majority in our country is irrelevant, but what is important is that he is misinforming the public and making arguments based on flawed logic and generalizations, which invalidate him as a credible source for factual information, not to mention political news. Credibility aside, Beck’s statements are uncalled for and downright offensive to whatever atheists are unlucky enough to view his program, and he’s a perfect example of the double standard for mass media political commentary regarding religion in this country: those with a god can say whatever they damn well please, and we without one are expected to grin and bear it. Tolerance, they’d remind us, is one of their virtues.
Don’t misunderstand, I acknowledge that we atheists have our fair share of offensive proponents as well. Antitheists, practitioners of a branch of militant atheism, take their personal message of hate to Christians and other religious groups everywhere, methodology ranging from vitriolic internet personalities shouting tirades to dangerous activists utilizing terroristic violence to make a point. Christian groups, too, have their dangerous fringe elements, from the ubiquitous neoconservative Evangelical Christian groups nationwide to the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, whose members protest military funerals toting signs with such colorful slogans as “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “Fags die, God laughs” (“Extremism in America”). Much like most Christians would find such platforms offensive and ridiculous, not all atheists agree or even tolerate our forms of zealots, who hijack our beliefs and make give all nonbelievers a bad name. In the same vein, not all Christians would endorse the sarcastic disrespect of aforementioned political commentators, but for some reason everyone seems to tolerate it. While our two parallel groups share similarities, the difference is the audience - the Christians’ dogmatists are given a massive platform and maniacal cultural sway, and their hate speech is allowed to flow freely and unabashedly over the airwaves and into television screens nationwide. Imagine if such an audience were readily accessible to atheist or even antitheist activists, what a starkly different world we’d be discussing!
A prime example of Fox News’ concerted effort to marginalize atheists from the table of political discourse is the case of President Barack Obama’s historic inaugural address this January. Morning political commentary program Fox & Friends took issue with one line in particular, evident of their ignorant intolerance, cultural phobia, and their provincial sensibilities. “We are a nation of Christians and Muslims,” intoned Obama, “Jews and Hindus - and nonbelievers” (Briggs and Huckabee). As an atheist, I remember exactly how this quote made me feel when I heard it live on the date itself. Trapped in a country drowning in Christian overrepresentation, even this tiny act of inclusion on such an international stage warmed my heart and rekindled my hope for positive change over next four years. However, Fox & Friends co-host Dave Briggs had another opinion entirely of the line, asking viewers “Was it all-inclusive to acknowledge nonbelievers or just offensive?” (Briggs and Huckabee).
Offensive to whom, exactly? To the Christians who were also mentioned, and in fact acknowledged before anyone else? Or offensive to the far-right neoconservative wing of the Republican party who Fox News historically caters to almost exclusively? Former Republican presidential frontrunner turned Fox News commentator Mike Huckabee sheds some light on the issue, explaining to Briggs that “...it’s an honest assessment that there are certainly many people in this country that [sic] are not believers in anything other than themselves” (Briggs and Huckabee). Well, doesn’t that sound familiar? It would appear that both Mike Huckabee and his colleague Glenn Beck had been guzzling the same insensitivity Kool-Aid that morning, because implying that atheists only believe in ourselves is as ignorant, childish, and stupid as alleging that we worship brooms. In addition, the former assertion is highly offensive to Broom-Worshippers worldwide, a target audience Beck may wish to rethink alienating.
To most rational people, the implication that atheists believe in nothing but ourselves is complete hogwash, but the idea is prototypical of an ignorant sort of thinking which resonates with a great number of people throughout the country. Misconceptions about atheism abound, due in part to the countless and oftentimes-subtextual lies disseminated by conservative smear artists like the Fox News anchors. When I first arrived at university, I was reluctant to share my non-belief with people. One classmate in particular did find out, through one avenue or another, and confronted me thusly, “So, since you don’t believe in God, you drink, do drugs, have sex, and stuff like that?” Though offended, I quickly informed him that, “No, as a matter of fact I don’t do any of those things, and even if I chose to it wouldn’t be because I’m an atheist.” The conception that a non-believer could have a complex and hard-fought ethical coda floors many Christians, and this notion that all atheists are hedonists stems from the paranoid misinformation from right-wing hate machines, including our beloved Fox News. This line of thinking is also fruit of religious indoctrination, which misleads millions into thinking that moral standards and codes are dictated to you, not discovered for yourself. It boggles the mind that so many otherwise unique and intelligent individuals subject themselves to the nonsensical rantings of Christian preachers, and that people adopt the force-fed morality without a second thought. Take Emerson’s advice and “make your own Bible!” My personal favorite part of the story is that this particular Catholic Christian student directed his accusation at me from behind a can of Natural Light, which he imbibed in its entirety moments later. Ad maiorem Dei gloriam, right?
What’s more, the fact that such a prominent conservative Republican figure as Mike Huckabee could be repositioned as political commentator and host of the eponymous Huckabee proves Fox’s political bias to be sure, but for rational viewers this accusation was never in question. Fox News has their right to plug and campaign whichever side of the political fence they so choose, and we as the viewer have our right not to take them seriously. But it’s in the realm of religion in particular where Fox markedly and repeatedly crosses the line and outs themselves as politically incorrect, insensitive ignoramuses. For example, in yet another instance of blind hatred and conspiratorial fear, the gang at Fox & Friends stirred the pot yet again while commenting on a Washington state controversy involving an atheist sign placed in close proximity to a Christian nativity scene. The sign was stolen, presumably by pro-religion activists, and the atheist organization was moving to replace it with another sign channeling Moses, ironically reading “Thou shalt not steal.” In my personal opinion, this would be a perfectly understandable and acceptable response, and I’d expect something similar from Christians or any other religious group if their displays were violated or stolen.
Not only did former beauty pageant star and co-host Gretchen Carlson become visibly and admittedly enraged over the incident, she deferred to neoconservative regular guest Michelle Malkin to offer her thoughts on the issue, who in turn encouraged viewers to first “ignore atheists” by likening them to attention-whoring internet “trolls,” and then explains that “making fun of them, too, and mockery is probably the second-best solution” (Carlson and Malkin). She even instructs the audience to “Let them make fools of themselves in public square and say a prayer for them.” In response to this despicably galling commentary from a supposed political “expert,” Carlson - who’d been completely unable to recognize the irony in their quoting a Commandment, and stupidly thought the atheists idiots for using the other side’s beliefs - indulges in a bit of sensationalism, spelling out that “if you let them do that, then over time they will have the control… If you don’t stand up and fight for it, it might just disappear! I’m talking about Christianity!” (Carlson and Malkin). Danger, Christians, danger!
In the most Christian country in the world, when backed by a formidable 76.9% majority, is there really any chance of Christianity up and disappearing? Of course not. This sort of uninformed and misleading scare tactic is one employed almost daily by Fox News anchors in order to strike an emotional nerve within their viewerships’ traditionalist sensibilities. Atheism, ladies and gentlemen, is nowhere near powerful or influential enough to do away with Christianity altogether - some of my more antagonistic atheist friends are thinking, “One can only dream.” But in reality, it’s altogether possible - indeed, proven likely by European countries - that large numbers of Christians and atheists can coexist peacefully with one another, without either of them disappearing into thin air. And, oddly enough, doesn’t their Rapture entail all of the god-fearing Christians suddenly disappearing from the face of the Earth, leaving their clothes and belongings behind to be destroyed in the coming apocalyptic holocaust - one which we atheists are sentenced to endure? So, in theory, wouldn’t it be a positive thing for all the Christians in this country to be suddenly and without warning teleported to heaven, evidently disappearing from the world? Sounds like somebody needs a refresher course on Revelations. I digress.
With vitriolic rhetoric such as this, it’s easy for fear-mongering political activist groups like Fox News to rile a paranoid fervor in their viewers. Is it any surprise that fringe conservative elements throughout the country feel threatened and phobic about the increasing population of atheists, assuming that we want to indoctrinate their children and supplant their lifestyles with secular ones? This fundamental misunderstanding of the secularist movement as a threat is a dangerous one for atheists such as myself, and is a myth propagated by dictatorial media pundits like Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly and Mike Huckabee. If this conspiratorial trend continues, and the marginalization and belittlement of the opposition by such polarizing figures persists, this country’s looming culture war will undoubtedly reach a frightening tipping point, and I sincerely hope that Beck’s misleading lies will be the only things he’s culpable for. M.
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- Citing Atheists Offensive in Obama Inaugural Address? Perf. Dave Briggs and Mike Huckabee. YouTube, 25 Jan. 2009. Web. 1 Nov. 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twoXZE9U0Io.
- "Extremism in America - Westboro Baptist Church: About WBC." Anti-Defamation League. Web. 04 Nov. 2009. http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/WBC/.
- Gaylor, Annie L. "Is America a Christian Nation?" Freedom From Religion Foundation, 2007. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. http://www.ffrf.org/nontracts/xian.php.
- Glenn Beck Attacks Atheists and Interviews James Dobson on School Prayer. Perf. Glenn Beck. YouTube, 25 Jan. 2009. Web. 1 Nov. 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJJlgNf06ek.
- Lind, Michael. "America is not a Christian nation." Salon.com. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/04/14/christian_nation/.
- Michelle Malkin: Atheists Should Be Treated Like "Trolls." Perf. Gretchen Carlson and Michelle Malkin. YouTube, 18 Dec. 2008. Web. 1 Nov. 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brBqkmzN4js&feature=related.
- Paper, Tom. "US Presidential Voting Likelihoods." Data 360. 30 May 2007. 26 Oct. 2009. http://www.data360.org/report_slides.aspx?Print_Group_Id=99.
- Pearlston, Carl. "Is America a Christian Nation?" Catholic Education Resource Center. 26 Oct. 2009. http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/politics/pg0040.html.
- "The Religious Makeup of Congress." Pew Research Center. Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 19 Dec. 2008. Web. 01 Nov. 2009. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1064/the-religious-makeup-of-congress.
- "United States Constitution." The U.S. Constitution Online. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html.
