20 posts were split to a new topic: Democrats in headlines
So you’re serious about equating atheists with soccer fans? What does that make Christians equivalent to: football fans, baseball fans, hockey fans…? 
Some people take sports as seriously as religion, or more so. But your Constitution doesn’t put those things in the same category, and I think you know that.
Atheists are people who don’t believe in God. Why do they need to be acknowledged?
I don’t watch soccer, I don’t do Yoga, I don’t eat carbs at night, I don’t own a TV, where’s the resolution acknowledging I don’t do those things?
Why does anyone need to be acknowledged?
Christians, Jews, Muslims, this, that, the other thing… they have political advocacy groups, in some cases very influential ones. They have them for reasons. Their religions are subject to legal disputes over and over. They’re targets of hate speech, violence, conspiracy theories, genocidal plans by extremist groups… and atheists are also subject to these things.
Sports fans, not so much.
When has anyone in the US been physically attacked for being an atheist?
Nobody cares if you don’t believe in God, just like no one cares that I don’t watch soccer. Which is why this resolution is silly.
I’ll let the card-carrying atheists respond to that.
Have you never heard of proselytization? I thought you were a Mormon… 
I think it matters far too much politically in the US. It would be hard to move up in politics as an atheist.
1 Like
Try getting away with not saying “bless you” when someone sneezes near you.
I never say that, and I actually don’t like it when people say it to me. Annoying.
“Bless you” has long since lost any religious significance and just become the polite response when someone sneezes…nothing more, nothing less.
1 Like
I hate it because it means nothing and I’m expected to acknowledge them and say thank you. I don’t want to thank people for this, really weird imo.
1 Like
I guess it’s one of those aspects of American culture that could seem strange if you didn’t grow up with it. Christmas would probably seem pretty strange too if it hadn’t been turned into a global marketing campaign. I found nothing strange at all about celebrating Christmas as an atheist when I was growing up.
I remember I was so confused when I moved to the US from this. I think it’s common in most western societies, Italy has this as well.
I think this gets to the root of why the DNC felt they had to highlight that it is ok to be atheist. There are things that people have to pretend to be in order to be widely accepted in American culture. There are times when I’ve said the “bless yous” and said I was a non-practicing Christian in order to eliminate that uncomfortable silence that happens in certain company. I don’t agree with the need to pander to a group like that but it is a thing.
Nowadays"Bless you" is the expression of sympathy for an unpleasant experience that made you sneeze. It’s harmless.
OTOH, when someone says (God) Bless You at a checkout, I regard it as a sign of aggression and make the sign of the Horned One and say “avert”. I regard it as a good opportunity to spread the Word of our Father Below.
1 Like
I thought it was short for “God bless you, Jesus is the Lord!”. Thanks for correcting my misinterpretation.