Odd that they didnāt include African-American, Muslim or even Jewish on that list. Iām sure less-common traits like ātransgenderedā would probably be a pretty big political handicap too.
Also, who the hell are that 2% of Americans who would be more likely to vote for a candidate who cheated on their spouse?
Itās the most positive attribute on that list for me.
I donāt trust any politician who ādoes Godā.
Having a bit of a hard time parsing that chartā¦ ādoesnāt matterā should be in between āmore likelyā and āless likelyā under any reasonable system.
1% are those who cheat and assume everybody does and so at least a candidate whoās admitted to doing it is honest about it and it canāt be used against him (or her).
The other 1% are those who deliberately answer surveys in the most ridiculous ways to skew results.
I am occasionally in one of those 1% groups.
Meanwhile, a career in American politics is something Iām going to have to avoid.
Largely because Iām Canadian, and have zero public speaking skills. But this doesnāt help matters.
Atheists: We Donāt Have A Prayer.
I wonder how many of the anti-atheist respondents have a mental picture of atheists as all being loudly confrontational and outspoken Dawkins types, similar to how a lot of people used to* associate feminism with caricatures of man-hating lesbian bra-burners and Andrea Dworkin.
* probably still do, come to think of it.
If they had put Muslim on there, it would surely take the prize.
I donāt think so, actually.
Atheists are thought of as evil persons in certain parts of Texas and surrounding areas, including a lot of the South. My atheist Russian professor friends in north Texas tell me that they learned years ago to just nod politely and keep their mouths shut when the subject came up.
Maybe what Iāve encountered is more widespread than I thought?
Iāve met people who upon learning I donāt go for their jazz & discussing it that many people may mistake being atheist for being someone who does not have or does not acknowledge a higher power. I can dig it I guess, denying someone elseās faith is ignorant and arrogant & people often think that faith not shared is faith denied even where it isnāt.
Ridiculous right? Iāve got or acknowledge higher power(s), they just arenāt anthropomorphic deity class higher powers.
Oddāit seems like Obamaās political enemies could make a much stronger case for the President being a closeted Atheist than a secret Muslim, yet they opted for the latter.
Could be the pol-leaders of Xians are internal atheists themselves from years of playing a role with huge plot holes & thus unconsciously avoid accusing others of what they deny & hide within themselves.
Bill Clinton and Mark Sanford?
I guarantee you that there are lots of atheists in Congress pretending to be Xtian.
To a lot of religious people, Iām sure atheism==amorality. Consciously rejecting god is equivalent to consciously rejecting morality in their eyes. Iām sure there are those who would prefer satan worshippers to atheists: āAt least they believe in the battle between good and evil, even if they are on the wrong sideā¦ā
I remember there being a few things Obama said in the 2008 election and his early days in office that actually did make me go hmmm. I think there was something about him not actually attending church very often even though he was supposedly a member of one. He also mentioned non-believers in his 2008 inaugural address. Whatever his beliefs, just mentioning the existence of non-believers felt like a huge step forward at the time.
I live in NC, so Southern Baptist reign supreme, and that pretty much sums it up. And itās not even so much that they have some moral high ground to stand on, itās literally the fact they canāt process the idea of morality without god. My parents didnāt raise me in the church, which they regret and I am grateful for, and I think my morals are pretty damn solid. I found through highschool and college that the more exposed my peers were to religion the more likely they were to be the ones to act out, they sayings about the preacherās daughter usually are true.
Once, while I was volunteering as a tutor for kids who got caught up in the justice system, it got mentioned that I was atheist. Thatās almost exactly what one of the kids said except he claimed to be siding with satan. No, I donāt know satan worship meant to a 10 year old either.
If I suspect that someone might want to make it their personal project to āsaveā me from atheism, I tell them a half truth: My grandfather was from China and I come from a long line of Buddhists. It doesnāt work as well as the āIām Jewishā gambit, but sometimes I donāt feel like justifying my life of godless debauchery and sleeping in on Sunday with strangers.
