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America is built for Atheism

Started by Dragon_Of_Heavon, January 28, 2009, 03:38:48 PM

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Dragon_Of_Heavon

Life and the pursuit of happiness these words scream to us from not only our constitution but from far into the past. America was and is built to be for the people by the people. America can be said to be built for Atheism in that the very core beliefs of America are essentially Atheistic. In every other type of government that humanity has tried, the base of power has been with either one person by supposed divine right or by the strongest. This system of governance appeals best to most people in that it places the responsibility of not only the actions of the state, but also personal actions as guided by law or tradition, off on someone else. In these systems the person does not have to shoulder the responsibility of governance and can not be held accountable for the mistakes of the state. The belief of the theist functions in much the same manner. How often it is that one hears from the theist such phrases as "It is not your fault, it is gods will." "It is gods will that this man be prosecuted for his crime." etc. The theist shirks responsibility even in his own life by passing it off to god.

Much like the beliefs of America the Atheist holds him/herself accountable for their actions including who they put in charge of governance. If a person votes for a bad leader then he/she can be held partially accountable for the actions of the governing party. Even if the person does not vote for the leader if the person shows support for that leader anyway they are partially responsible for the actions of their governance. That is the American way. This way is not easy in fact it is difficult, just as the life of an Atheist is not easy. Being solely accountable for your actions can get tiresome and even painful. It is easier to shirk the responsibility off to another party. Believing that you have a clean slate just by repenting to a higher power feels good it makes all the sense in the world from a stand point of what feels good. But is it right? This triviality is only important to the Atheist, to the theist truth can be subjective, after all the only one who really knows truth is god.

The Atheist must be concerned because the only things guiding their actions are principles such as truth and honor as well as feeling such as love. The Atheist cannot shirk responsibility because it would mean ignoring the very things that give the Atheist a center. America and the Atheist are linked in this love of truth compassion and justice. The idea that all hold common responsibility is unique to these two parties in all the world. It is the theists belief that all people are created equal spiritually. It is why the theistic churches were able to condone slavery and other major atrocity's. it is because they hold that though spiritually we are equal, in this life I can put you into bondage. The educated secular north were opposed to this even in the start of America. They understood the hypocritical nature of this argument and only allowed for the continuation of slavery in a wish to have a chance against the British. The heavily theistic south continued in this atrocity for over a century later claiming divine right, and ignoring the very principles that America is founded upon. In America All are equal in as much as they are human. We are all human and at our best we all recognize this fact. The American recognizes the need to work together to stay free so that we might accomplish our goals and archive fulfillment. In much the same way the American Atheist knows that though it is not his/her responsibility to help you reach fulfillment, it is the responsibility of every American and even more so every American Atheist to make sure that we are all free to pursue our own happiness. Both America and Atheists alike hold the belief that our lives are ours we must live them to the fullest. It is this common standpoint that bonds us together.
When the last bastion of religion falls the religious will look up at the sky and ask their God why? And then they will collapse wailing and grinding their teeth. The atheist will look at his feet and say "I think that I can build something better here!"

Will

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is from the Declaration of Independence.

The United States are a bit of a religious paradox, historically. We were, to be quite frank, founded by puritanical pilgrims leaving Europe because it wasn't their particular cup of god-tea. When they came here, it was as it they had been given permission to be even more repressed and frightened. This an atheistic foundation does not make.

It wasn't really until word of trading and other economic possibilities made their way back to Europe that intellectuals started to settle down in the New World. That's when things started shifting. It wasn't necessarily a shift away from anything to anything, more just new people bringing their unique viewpoints and generally making the 13 Colonies more diverse. And by diverse, I mean almost entirely white, but slightly different denominations. As had happened in Europe, the wing nuts were, though to a lesser degree, marginalized.

By the time the revolution was revving up, many of the state representatives were, if not atheistic, at the very least agnostic. Jefferson famously rewrote the Bible omitting supernatural occurrences. It was essentially simply a collection of the philosophical and moral teachings of Jesus.

Getting back to the point, though, the US government isn't atheistic per se, it's simply not in the business of religious philosophy. Because the framers of the Constitution had come from a place where the line between religion and the state was nonexistent, they appreciated lessons learned in ancient Greeceâ€"representative democracy based in a constitutional republic and a separation between church and state. These are the foundation upon which all else is built.
I want bad people to look forward to and celebrate the day I die, because if they don't, I'm not living up to my potential.