If you can step outside at dusk on October 31^st and go trick-or-treating in your neighborhood with a bunch of kids and participating houses: you’re lucky.

For many of us, we live in areas infested with religious nonsense that has killed Halloween. The irrational belief that Halloween is “Satan’s Holiday” in conjunction with “Tricking is for Satan” has led to church-sponsored “Trunk-Or-Treat” and has emptied neighborhoods of joyfully screaming children and eerily decorated homes.

You’ve never heard of Trunk-Or-Treat? Well then count yourself lucky again! Trunk-Or-Treat (We’ll call it TOT from now on) was started by churches to take the “trick” (that evil trickster Loki) out of Halloween and bring their children (of all ages: including the teenagers) to church for their candy. Basically, you line up your cars in the church parking lot and parents hand out candy to the church-going kids from the trunks of their cars. Many parents decorate their cars: but not in a way that remotely resembles anything Satanic or monstrous or impish! No… decorations must be godly and innocent (to quote Depeche Mode, “And when I say innocent, I should say naïve.”)

Now before I continue, I think I should fairly note that some places have adopted TOT for secular purposes. Some cities are sponsoring TOT to get kids off the street where they can get candy safely: without religious nonsense involved. A good example is the Elkhart, Indiana Police Department. This year they will be setting up a marked police car every other block on a cordoned off street and each car will be handing out candy to the kids along with other activities. The businesses along the street will be participating as well. Not only is this a great way to get kids to a safe area, but it also helps build the relationship between the neighborhood and their local police department. And it is completely secular.

But not so much for some of us… the sub-division that I live in has almost 400 homes in it. Not a single one participates in Halloween. There are zero kids on the street Halloween night. I know what you’re thinking, but I am not exaggerating. Not a single home participates and hands out candy because the kids are not there to receive it.

The sub-division down the street from us was a popular place to trick-or-treat about ten years ago, but nowadays it is also empty: no kids going from home to home and no homes participating with very few decorations.

But at least the church parking lots are full of cars and kids! (sigh)

This year Halloween falls on Sunday (can you hear the Darth Vader Theme playing in the background somewhere?), which means the anti-Halloween religious fever is at an all-time high. How dare anyone celebrate Satan’s holiday on the Lord’s Day?!?!?!?!

So of course the mayor made mention of this and hinted at changing Halloween to Saturday. And the excuse given is not religious, but that it is on a school night and we don’t want the kiddies staying up too late! We won’t mention that fact that every time Halloween falls on a weekday this whole “school night” issue never comes up: only does when it falls on a Sunday.

But our new mayor isn’t as religiously stunted as our last mayor. He mentioned it, but didn’t do anything about it.

At least in this dismal sea of religiously-motivated Halloween emptiness, there are a few beacons of candylicious light and scary delight!

A sub-division a couple of miles from us is where all the rich people live: million dollar homes with a lakefront and riverfront view. The richer a person is the chances increase that they are educated. The more educated one is the chances increase that they are less religiously dogmatic. And so it goes that what we affectionately call “Snob Hill” still has trick-or-treating. And because it is the rich street (and the natural competition between them) the houses are uber-decorated and instead of a snack-size Snickers: you get a regular size Snickers (Dentists: shut up… without cavities you would be poor).

So each year we pass by our dark neighborhood where there are no orange or purple lights: no waving flashlights in the streets shining the way for candy-crazed children having a good time dressing up as their favorite heroes and villains. We drive past the desert: arid of all things fun and entertaining which are not godly, and continue to “Snob Hill” where I blast the Michael Myers’ theme music from my car as I drive down the street and remember….

Remember the days when I was a kid before religion took Halloween and pissed on it. Remember the thousands of kids in the streets. Remember using a pillowcase and filling it up to the rim… struggling to carry the burdensome load home. Changing costumes and doing it all over again!

I wish my children could have those fond memories, but if you live in an area like me: religion has killed it for them.

And does anyone else get the irony of the religious hatred of all things monstrous and zombie from the religion that worships a zombie?

by Blair Scott

AMERICAN ATHEISTS EVENT

http://www.atheists.org

TOM FLYNN TO SPEAK AT
AMERICAN ATHEIST CENTER
SATURDAY,. DEC. 4, 2010
“THE TROUBLE WITH CHRISTMAS”

TOM FLYNN, Editor of Free Inquiry Magazine, will be a guest speaker at the American Atheist Center on Saturday, DEC. 4, 2010. Mr. Flynn is the Editor of Free Inquiry magazine, a publication of the Council for Secular Humanism, and the critical book “The Trouble With Christmas ” — also the title of his lecture.

The event, which begins at 1:00 PM, will feature an upbeat a capella group “FM.” Refreshments will be served. A donation of $10 is requested at the door. Copies of Mr. Flynn’s book will be available for purchase and signing.

WHO & WHAT: Tom Flynn, Editor of “Free Inquiry” speaking at the American Atheist Center on The Trouble With Christmas.

WHERE: The American Atheist Center, 225 Cristiani St., Cranford, NJ 07016

WHEN: Saturday, December 4, 2010 beginning at 1:00 PM

MORE INFO: http://www.atheists.org

(AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights
for Atheists, Freethinkers and other nonbelievers; works for the total
separation of church, mosque, temple and State; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)

Conrad Goeringer is the editor of AANEWS (a service of American Atheists). Conrad wrote this amazing piece about the rescue of the Chilean miners and the constant thanking of a deity instead of the actual engineers and scientists that rescued the miners. If you would like to subscribe to the AANEWS service, send a blank email to aanews-on@atheists.org

RELIGIOUS BOOSTERISM, SUPERSTITION TAINT STORY OF HEROIC MINE RESCUE
Technology, Reason, Science and Evolution Saved Lives

As the last of the 33 miners trapped for 69 days under the Chilean desert was pulled to safety, it was difficult to resist the contagious enthusiasm and sense of exhilaration pervading the rescue scene.

The images were flashed live around the world; and what had begun as a local calamity in Chile was transformed into a story that riveted the attention of people everywhere. One by one, the miners emerged from a 28-inch hole in the Earth, riding over 2,000 feet to the surface in a cramped steel cage. The hugs of relatives and friends, the shouts of joy, the heartfelt embrace by the President of Chile — all of it became the evocative iconic imagery of a global media event.

Dramas like this frequently stir discussion over the most profound existential issues. Did religious faith steel the miners to not abandon hope and instead struggle against seemingly insurmountable odds in anticipation of being rescued? Did prayer attenuate psychological depression for this small band of human beings encapsulated deep beneath the surface with few supplies and pervading darkness? Did the desperate prayers of sympathetic people, from close relatives to distant strangers, somehow convince a god to spare the lives of these 33 trapped men?

Indeed, according to GOOGLE, over 16,500 news stories in print and electronic media have mentioned terms like “god,” “faith” and “prayer” in coverage of the Chilean rescue. This is not surprising. Calamity seems to bring out the most primitive instincts, and a feeling that, somehow, human life is at the mercy of a capricious deity or group of deities, and that good fortune — even life itself — can be attained by sufficiently zealous supplication.

We could careen off here into a discussion of bronze-age superstitions, and offering animals (even human beings) to appease a supernatural overlord. The faithful are right — religion is easily forgotten when the world seems to be a safe and secure place. Introduce war, chaos, tragedy, and people quickly rediscover their religious roots. They speak of “miracles” and prayers being answered; and, as shown in the case of the rescue of the brave Chilean miners, the real causes of success are subsumed in a flood of religious narratives.

News commentary often fuels this process. “God talk” seems as much of a part of the story as the rescue itself.

In truth, the dramatic and “miraculous” events at Camp Esperanza — “Camp Hope,” the impromptu name given to the site of the mine cave-in and subsequent rescue effort — was a compelling example of how Reason, technology and human solidarity made possible the saving of these 33 lives. There was no “miracle” here, nor evidence that any deity heard the supplications of the religious, or responded to them. Instead, what we saw this week in those images being beamed around the globe was a splendid example of human knowledge and engineering skill safeguarding lives. Chilean naval experts used their acumen to design and fabricate a sturdy and safe rescue vehicle. Mining engineers drilled shafts to lower video cameras, food, medicine and other supplies to the trapped miners. The Chilean government put the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to shame, organizing a coherent rescue plan that took into account everything from the physical health of those trapped in the mine collapse to the men’s psychological state. Doctors are amazed at the physical vitality and attitude of these men who endured horrific conditions for over two months.

If humanity rescued its own, it is important to remember that human greed and folly are probably at the root of the disaster. This was likely a preventable accident. On a global scale, coal mining is a particularly deadly occupation. Now, some religious claim that social breakdown and other maladies have increased since the Supreme Court “kicked god out of the public schools.” There are many arguments to counter such nonsense; but it is worth noting that mortality rates in the United States in the coal mining industry have dropped considerably since the mid-1930s when there was a yearly average of over 1500 deaths, to the 2009 figure of 18. Other countries reflect a similar drop. Even China, which despite its “Communist” label is a state, that brutally disciplines and punishes the working class, has slashed the number of deaths in mining tragedies in half since 2000.

There are multiple reasons for this, everything from greater oversight and supervision of an industry that often attempts to overlook the safety of workers, to increased understanding of mining process, more emphasis on safety, and the vigilance of groups like the United Mine Workers Union. Technology plays a Herculean role here not only in the mining process but in rescue efforts. In the case of the recent Chile events, equipment, personnel and expertise poured in from countries around the globe.

Evolution likely played a startling role here, too. While the subject is denounced from many pulpits and podiums, evolution may well have provided the Chilean miners — and most other human beings — with survival mechanisms like cooperation, empathy and solidarity. Of course these men were trained professionals; but as the days passed, the miners bonded and formed a “brotherhood under stress” that fostered mutual support, advice and sympathy. This process has been repeated throughout history; but recent research into primate behaviors confirms what Peter Kropotkin, the 19th century social activist and author of “Mutual Aid” so forcefully argued. “Competition” and natural selection work to propel evolution change; but we are now beginning to understand that cooperation, empathy and solidarity sustain and nourish us, especially in dire times.

Still, the irrational parts of our evolutionary heritage die hard and assert themselves when our world is thrown into chaos. We often pray to supernatural beings, participating in a one-sided bargain. Pray and sacrifice, and maybe the world will be made right again. One of the rescued miners summarized his underground experience and rescue; “I’ve been near God, but I’ve also been near the devil,” he said. “They fought, but God won.”

There is no evidence to suggest that any Christian (or other) deity “fought” the very incarnation of evil he supposedly created, an “adversary” seeking to destroy human beings. If God existed, why did he permit the disaster in the first place? What possible reason, what cosmic plan — supposedly inscrutable to the best human minds — could he have had in permitting this, or any other tragedy he was and is capable of preventing in the first place? Why allow such excruciating torture of his favored creatures? Is it all a plea, as the Old Testament suggests, for more prayers and sacrifice?

We should not blame or fault, and certainly not insult, the miners, the families, and anyone else who prayed that this tragedy end on a positive note. It certainly did, and any empathetic human likely felt relief, joy, compassion and happiness as the rescue cage (dubbed Phoenix), returned and descended into the Earth as it slowly transported its human cargo. Praise not “god,” but the engineers, technicians, scientists, government leaders, rescue workers and anyone else who was part of this effort. Out of this tragedy, for a while anyway, perhaps our planet — so fragile, so divided by competing faiths and ideologies — was truly one. Make no sacrifice and give no thanks to a deity. Celebrate, instead, that part of humanity which unites us and gives us cause to care for other human beings.

As Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the founder of American Atheists declared, “All we have is each other.”

If you want proof of that fact, remember the events and the people at Camp Esperanza.

– by Conrad Goeringer
Editor, AANEWS

Missouri State Director Greg Lammers had a piece printed in the MyMissourian. Here is his piece in its entirety:

Atheist stresses need for evidence, reason and inquiry
October 10, 2010

Greg Lammers is the state director of the American Atheists of Missouri and began the Columbia Atheist group. What are your feelings about your faith? Please share them with us at submissions@mymissourian.com.

“I am so glad I found this group. I thought I was the only one.”

“Some of my family/friends still don’t know I am an atheist.”

I’ve heard variants of the above two statements in many places from women and men, young and old. These two sentiments reflect much of why I stand for the rights and reputations of the godless as state director for American Atheists and why I started the Columbia Atheists group.

I’m honored to write about my lack of faith. I’d also like to emphasize that I speak for myself. My thoughts are mine; I’m responsible for their relationship to reality. Other atheists may not agree with everything I say. There are no unquestionable authorities, atheist or otherwise.

An atheist is a person who doesn’t think any supernatural beings (gods) exist. We see this universe as the only realm of which we have any reliable knowledge and experience. And no, the universe is not a god, there’s no cause to add the immaterial to our natural existence.

Evidence, reason, and inquiry rule the day, every day. Faith, no matter how strong or honest, is not proof of the existence of anything. Asserting something doesn’t make it so.

Now, I’ll admit there are things we don’t know. In fact the American Atheists organization’s logo is a stylized atomic model, representing the scientific method, with one orbital left open, representing the fact that we have more to learn. We may never know everything, but filling the unknown with myths doesn’t add to our knowledge.

Proponents of faith systems routinely claim that religion (especially their particular brand) grants us divine morality and without faith one can’t be truly moral. But people everywhere with no need of dogma are raising families, working, going to school and leading all manner of productive lives. Places such as Sweden and Denmark are heavily atheistic and, I’m told, quite nice places to live.

Atheists in societies where the majority profess some type of faith often find themselves demonized and ostracized. Many children are told that to be good is to believe in something, sometimes anything. Many adults remain quiet about their doubts or outright atheism for fear of losing social support. I suspect that many of us would be surprised at the number of actual nonbelievers who regularly attend worship services.

Every day more people are realizing that they don’t agree with the claims of religious marketing, no matter how it’s packaged and sold. And as more of us declare openly that we don’t buy into faith systems, it becomes easier for others to do the same. That is why forthright freethinkers and atheist groups and organizations are so important and why I started Columbia Atheists and volunteer with American Atheists.

by Greg Lammers

Hi All!

I will be hosting an Inventory Party on Thursday at HQ in Cranford NJ from 6-9 pm. Drop by for pizza, cola, and lots of counting!

Dave