Mild mannered atheists everywhere—and of course there are mild mannered atheists everywhere—be aware that you may be lumped in with the worse that atheism has to offer. Enter “Atheist Activist”—a group of atheists reported on by local radio station 770 KKOB AM’s Jim Villanucci—who are currently encouraging the destroying of road side memorials in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Their stated purpose is to provide, “a tool for the atheist who wants to bring about change through activism to benefit the secular community…” Sadly, their recommended actions are virtually tailor made to vilify the “secular community,” give atheism a bad name and bring ill repute to atheists in general.
From their subtitle and their further reference to “separation of church and state” one discerns that they know not of what they speak as the US Constitution provides the Establishment Clause and not “separation of church and state.”
Roadside memorials are generally crosses, flowers, etc. little reminders placed by families at the side of roads where their loved ones died in car accidents or being run over. It appears that Atheist Activists are so saturated with hatred that they encourage the destruction and disposal of these. They refer to them as “macabre eyesores and dangerous distractions…offensive, annoying and depressing” and state, “When you do see them, remove them as soon as possible…the State condones religious symbols being placed along the road on State property. There is nothing stopping us from taking down these religious symbols. We don’t need any new laws, we need direct action.”
They also quote the Freedom From Religion Foundation lawyer Robert R. Tiernan who, not to be outdone, stated, “For us, the memorials raise serious church-state constitutional concerns because they usually feature religious symbols and are placed on state property.”
Their call to action is clearly a very thinly veneered emotional reaction of prejudice against religious people expressing themselves as per the very premise of the USA’s freedom of religious expression and the right’s given to us by what the Declaration of Independence refer to as our “Creator…nature’s God.”