Hemant at Friendly Atheist noted that a fellow member of Atheist|Nexus has posted a National Journal article entitled "The Godless Rise As A Political Force." Paul Starobin, National Journal's reporter, recognizes that "In the past, politicians in Washington and elsewhere could largely ignore the Godless, whatever their numbers:"
But those days are over. Now the Godless are making a crucial transformation toward the status of a my-time-has- come movement with a political and legislative agenda to enact -- and with this shift, a host of contentious national issues is being engaged, with the potential to ignite a new round of culture wars in American society.
Here are a few things that he should consider: we atheists didn't ignite the culture wars, although they have been waged against us. Our motto isn't on the currency, our holy days aren't holidays, and our belief isn't represented in the Pledge of Allegiance. When Starobin writes that "the long-term Godless agenda" is "tantamount to a bid to wrest control of the culture from the religious-minded," he's wrong. We aren't demanding money that reads "in no gods we trust" or a Pledge that claims that we are "one nation under no gods," or even a president that swears the oath written in the Constitution.
Starobin writes more moderately later on, recognizing that we Godless Americans (I prefer god-free, but why quibble?) "want a place at the table:"
They want their voices to be heard not only at the White House and in the halls of Congress but also across the Potomac at the Pentagon, which they view as an especially hard bedrock of conservative religious culture, viscerally hostile to nonbelievers. In short, the Godless want to be viewed no longer as an offbeat and safely marginalized counterculture but as part of the diverse mainstream of American life.
When we get that place at the table, we'd also like a turn at saying a few words before the meal that we helped to provide and prepare. Theists may not be ready to hear what we're going to say, but their time of monopolizing the mealtime conversation is over.
Amen.