cognitive dissident

My letter on the ACLU’s defense of civil liberties was published today, and drew some interesting responses on the newspaper’s online chat page. One respondent wrote this:

[name redacted] is entitled to his opinion. I would suggest, however, that he temper his letters…with a touch of humility. His arrogance is palpable.

to which I responded:

I would respectfully ask for guidance, then, on how I should have reacted to the original writer’s demonstrably false charges of hypocrisy against two groups to which I belong. I did not deem it appropriate to defend myself against his attacks with meekness and modesty. The respondent is entitled to his own—humble, of course—opinion about the “palpable arrogance” of my letter, but should recognize that it’s far easier to complain about a writer’s tone than to address his argument.

Another respondent had this to say:

[name redacted], a proud ACLU member is to be complimented for his munificence. He readily admits that he has no qualms when it comes to religion, as long as it is done in secret. It would be of interest to know what he considers ostentious when it comes to religious matters. Does he believe that one should only pray in a closet? He brags about protecting the liberties of those with whom he disagrees--while he would most vigorously deny the "FREE" exercise of religion to those who try to practice it.

[name redacted], in case you overlooked it, the 1st Amendment clearly states that, CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION. One would search in vain to find where the Constitution grants to the judiciary the right to restrict or limit the free exercise of religion. Alexander Hamilton wisely said: "The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the Divinity itself, and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power." One could rightly speculate that this Founding Father anticipated the likes of the ACLU and its atheistic myrmidons. [name redacted] thanks for your advice--I will now go into the nearest closet to pray.

[name and affiliation redacted]

to which I replied:

Let me state once again that I have no qualms about religious expression either in private or in public. It is Jesus himself who commanded his followers to pray in secret; I have neither the power nor the inclination to make such a demand. As a (non)religious minority in this country, I have long resigned myself to other people’s public expressions of faith. I would deny none of them—vigorously or otherwise—although I wish they would not be inserted into my Pledge of Allegiance, printed on my money, and forcibly subsidized with my tax revenue. I consider each of those instances to be ostentatious violations of the first amendment.

My qualms revolve around the entanglement of church and state, delineated in the clause “respecting an establishment of religion” that the respondent conveniently overlooked while typing the first amendment’s free exercise phrase IN ALL CAPS into his response. One could rightly speculate that Jefferson and Madison anticipated the likes of tinpot theocrats who would eagerly attempt to use state power to advance their own religious agenda, and therefore took steps to codify church/state separation into the Virginia Statue on Religious Freedom, the Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments, and the Bill of Rights. Thankfully, the first amendment—and its frequent defenders, the judiciary and the ACLU—wisely protects freedom of conscience for both the Christian majority and the myriad religious minorities in America.

I don’t mind the sarcastic comments about “munificence” and “bragging,” but the “myrmidon” reference is pure projection on his part [see note below]. If any group can be said to unquestioningly accept commands—and commandments—it is fundamentalists and other Biblical literalists. Expecting blind obedience from atheists would be less fruitful than herding cats. We’re far too individualistic a group for that, as the word “freethinkers” implies.

He has also not addressed my central point: that many Christians are ignoring the words of their own sacred text and contradicting Jesus’ own command that they not pray in public “that they may be seen of men.” I (humbly) await a justification, if anyone would care to attempt one.

update: A follow-up post is here.

update 2 (4/24 @ 2:02pm):
A series of studies, published as Atheists: A Groundbreaking Study of America's Nonbelievers (by Bruce E. Hunsberger and Bob Altemeyer), states that “atheists may be one of the least authoritarian groups you can find.” (p. 109) Atheists scored much lower on the following RWA (right-wing authoritarianism) attitudes than did religious believers:

…authoritarian submission (to established authorities), authoritarian aggression (against anyone the authorities target), and conventionalism (adhering to the social conventions thought to be endorsed by society and the established authorities). (p. 97)

As I suspected, the “myrmidons” comment was indeed a baseless slur on atheists.