Godless Americans Political Action Committee
• Skeptics & Atheists
I've often thought I'd be nice if all of the folks for whom the importance of maintaining a secular society, those who like me make it a hobby and that slender group who've made it a fulltime job, could somehow pool resources for political lobbying.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:
Atheists and other nonbelievers launched a political action committee Tuesday to endorse candidates and lobby lawmakers to remove all traces of religion from the government.
The group is called Godless Americans Political Action Committee, or GAMPAC. I've often referred to myself as godless so I can see the charm of the name.
So American Atheists President Ellen Johnson, who announced the formation of the group, proposes an unusual approach: GAMPAC could use the threat of endorsement to pressure lawmakers into siding with the group on issues.
"If a candidate says, 'Don't endorse me,' we will have to say we have the right to endorse somebody, but perhaps we can talk about what we can get in terms of promises from that candidate to help us out in return for not endorsing him," Johnson told a sparsely attended news conference at the National Press Club.
That is sort of funny as well. The PAC's political director says they wouldn't really do that.
In calling themselves Godless Americans these folks have guaranteed that the most they'll do is sit around, plan agendas, issue press releases. Their accomplishments are likely to be zero.
Groups like this are best lead by people who are as pragmatic as they are passionate. A boring name like Americans for a Reasonable Society would be better (you could make up dozens of better if dull names). In identifying themselves as godless they've put off the milder atheists, waffling agnostics and lots of really very gentle if genuinely secular people.
Actually it would be the Coalition of Americans for a Reasonable Society. The American Atheists whatever they think of the name should be trying to involve the Brights Movement people and the other groups committed to keeping the godly out of political power.
Not that I'm convinced that atheists and agnostics can be made into a coherent voting bloc or group of any kind. There are libertarian atheists who are more worried about taxation than creationism. And all across the spectrum to the most politically liberal everyone has a different agenda. Their anti-faith may or may not be near the top of their priorities. As someone said of something else it's like herding cats.
Comments
Posted by: Andrea | November 1, 2004 4:24 AM