LIBERAL CELEBRATION

(Because some readers may not be able to figure it out, this article was written to reflect the standpoint of a typical liberal who does not believe in God. Some of the following may be contested by representatives of that group.)

It has been a long and difficult battle, but we liberals and atheists are finally winning.

For centuries, the religious right has virtually controlled America and kept the rest of us from exercising and enjoying our freedoms. Christians decorated public institutions with their religious symbols and inserted Bible verses into historical documents. They insisted on putting religious slogans on our currency, inserting them into the pledge of allegiance and our national anthem. They have erected churches in nearly every city and town across the nation. As if that was not enough, Christians have done all in their power to force their religious beliefs on us, effectively suppressing activities and lifestyles which didn't conform to their convictions. We were not granted the same freedom of public expression that they enjoyed, for example. They were permitted to speak the names and words associated with their God openly without censorship, but we were not permitted to use those same words in schools, newspapers, radio, television and motion pictures. They dictated what we were permitted to wear and bare in public, and even made it unlawful for us to buy or sell literature which showed more skin than they deemed proper. Our sexual activity was defined and strictly limited by their laws. Many of us were banned from clubs, organizations and even military service due to our sexual orientation. They even passed legislation to ban the things we enjoy most, like gambling and consuming alcoholic beverages. And they have been largely responsible for the drastic limitation of places where we are permitted to smoke our cigarettes and cigars.

Much of that has changed dramatically in recent years. We have made great strides in throwing off the yoke that we have been forced to bear. We already have many reasons to celebrate, but the war is far from won. Fellow atheists and liberals, victory is in sight, but we must continue to fight valiantly if we are to defeat the religious right!

BATTLES WE HAVE ALREADY WON
Gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals are now recognized and accepted by the government, the military and even some religious institutions. We may openly promote and practice sexuality according to our personal preferences. We can choose one partner, many partners or continuously changing partners of any sex without fear of consequences or being publicly humiliated. We can hold love parades and conduct gay pride events. We have even been granted privileges which the religious right is denied. We may criticize them at will, for example, but they are forbidden by law to voice their objections to anything we do or say.

Christians are no longer permitted to promote their beliefs in schools and public institutions. Prayer and Bible reading has been banned. On the other hand, we can now teach public school children to accept and practice our core beliefs and sexual preferences. For this reason, many Christians have founded their own schools, making it even easier for us to promote our agendas. What is remarkable about this victory, is the fact that Christians not only have to fully fund the education of their own children, but their taxes also help pay for the education of our children and those of undocumented aliens.

Granted, sexual freedoms and preferences incur certain risks, but our government provides free condoms, birth-control pills, day-after pills and vaccinations against venereal disease. Should preventative measures fail, tax-funded programs are in place to care for those who contract diseases such as aids. The government also funds research programs that are seeking a cure for aids. Government programs like Planned Parenthood provide for the termination of unwanted pregnancies that may result. This has the added benefit of providing donor organs and fetuses for stem cell research. Although the religious right opposes the above practices, there is little Christians can do to prevent their tax dollars from subsidizing them.

We now have almost complete freedom of expression. Expletives and sexual depictions are now commonplace in the media. Christians have the option of turning off their TVs, but few do. And as they watch, more and more Christians are beginning to espouse our values or at least show toleration.

We would not have been able to make these important advances into enemy territory had we not achieved another, hardly noticed victory. The groundwork for our successes was laid in the battle of terminology. We were largely successful in re-defining certain words and in coining new expressions which are easier for most to accept.

The word, "tolerance," for example, originally indicated a permitted margin of error or departure from a given norm. This definition is still used in industry, but we were able to convince the general public that tolerance is actually the very opposite. We taught that tolerance is devoid of any norm. It now legitimizes the widest possible scope of conflicting opinions and core beliefs.

Another term that we coined has proved to be of great benefit to our cause. "Political correctness" was originally designed to replace terminology that carried a certain stigma. The word "handicapped," for example, was replaced with "physically impaired" or "mentally challenged," and "fat" was replaced with "obese." "Negro" underwent several changes, from "black," to "African American" and finally to "a person of color." North American Indians are now "native Americans."

We were quick to recognize the value of such semantic acrobatics in attaining our ends. Gender-related words were next to go. "Chairman" became "chairperson, while firemen and policemen are "first responders." An "illegal alien" became an "undocumented person."

The battle of semantics has enabled us to make rapid progress in disseminating our ideologies. We realized that we could use some of the same tactics Christians used. They argued, for instance, that abortion murders babies, a claim that turned Many against abortion. By inventing positive-sounding terms such as "pro choice," "family planning" and "planned parenthood," many Americans have been won back to our side. Incorporating abortion in health care packages has also helped to remove the stigma.

The re-defining of traditional English words has been more problematic, but we are making progress here too. Our new definition of marriage as a pact between two individuals has now been accepted by a number of states, and it should become federal law in the foreseeable future. Dictionaries are slow to accept new definitions, but as with the word "tolerance," these too will soon use our definition.

We have been largely successful in convincing the media and politicians to refrain from using politically incorrect terminology. Many Christian pastors and writers also refrain from using terminology that we have declared to be offensive. In fact, most Christians obligingly go along with this trend, even using our terminology for activities which they oppose.

Once we recognized the importance of language in our battle to wrest control of society from the Christians, we began to take every advantage of this tactic. We were able to get "Hate Crime" legislation passed, that effectively muzzles Christians, yet allows us to express ourselves freely. A nation-wide campaign in public schools against "bullying" reinforces the hate crime bill and also serves to pin the guilt image on Christians who are openly critical of homosexuality. No one wants to be labeled a promoter of hate crimes!

As already mentioned above, Christians have built churches on choice properties in the cities of our nation, yet they are exempt from taxes. A partial solution to the problem of untaxed church property has been addressed in recent legislation that permits communities to seize private property which provides little or no tax income, selling it to commercial developers. The "Eminent Domain" ruling has already been successfully implemented against churches in several cities.

THERE'S STILL WORK TO DO!
Although the media supports our agenda for the most part, the internet still poses a major deterrent to achieving our ends. We must continue to fight for government regulation and censorship of this important media form. A first step is a law requiring search engines like Google and Yahoo to keep records of all searches, and making this information available to government institutions on demand. We must strive to re-enact the "Fairness Doctrine" which Reagan dumped in order to reign in conservative talk shows.

The media faithfully reports gun violence, expressing the need for tighter gun controls. But we need to do more to convince the general public to support our gun control measures. We must continue to inform people that the availability of guns contributes to crime and that government mandates which spread wealth reduce the likelihood of people resorting to crime. Because Christians talk a lot about love and caring, one would expect them to readily embrace stricter gun laws, but members of the religious right are the most outspoken opponents to such measures. Many Christians are even in favor of the death penalty for repeat perpetrators of serious crimes.

Widespread Christian support for Israel poses another problem for us. One would not expect them to have much sympathy for a nation that crucified their Jesus. We need to convince them that deserting Israel is a small price to pay for achieving peace with the Arab Muslim nations!

The main reason Christians reject abortion and euthanasia is their belief that man was created in the image of God. We must try new ways to convince them of the evolutionary process. Their rejection of evolution is a great deterrent in our efforts as superior beings, to improve the world we live in through cloning, genetic manipulation, stem-cell research and other new sciences. Because they believe God is the creator and ultimate authority, they see no need for attempting to improve nature. They reject "cap and trade" regulation that helps prevent global warming and resist government control of our natural resources.

Christians have a strange world view. On the one hand, they send emissaries to the far corners of the globe to convert people to their God, yet they generally oppose open borders, one-world government, global economy and other regulatory bodies. They believe in sharing and helping the underprivileged, yet reject socialistic concepts such as mandatory "spreading of wealth" and communism. They are even opposed to a centralized government in America and insist on government of, for and by the people at the lowest possible level.

WHERE DIFFERENCES ARE DIMINISHING
Commercial relationships with Christians are fairly unproblematic today. Half a century ago, they boycotted stores that opened on Sunday, but few have qualms about shopping on any day of the week today. A few stubborn individuals still refuse to obey when the boss tells them to do things or provide services which go against their religious beliefs, but most are willing to compromise. We are winning!