Fair and Balanced
My fifth video on atheism. I respond to the CNN segment that aired January 30th, 2007 which was almost entirely a child-minded atheist bash.
Transcript follows:
Hello, I’m Al. I’m an atheist, I actively believe that supernatural gods don’t exist.
Actually, I have something to confess. I’m not an atheist. I actually became born again conservative Christian shortly after my birth.
I just couldn’t wait.
But I hope you’ll still watch this video and hear me out. Let’s start this over.
Hello, I’m Al. I’m a theist, I actively believe in a supernatural God.
On January 31, CNN’s Paula Zahn hosted a panel to discuss the supposed discrimination against atheists.
First there’s journalist Karen Hunter:
Karen Hunter: What does an atheist believe? Nothing.
(chuckle) Atheists don’t face discrimination.
Karen Hunter: I think this is such a ridiculous story.
Wow, this is off to a great start. I really like the backgrounds they have:
(shot of background which reads: “Why do atheists inspire such hatred?”)
That is both fair, and balanced.
They also had right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel.
Paula Zahn: Are any of you going to defend them here tonight?
Debbie Schlussel: No, I agree with her 100%.Wow, the second guest also hates atheists. What about you, sportswriter Stephen A. Smith?
Stephen A. Smith: We’re a Christian country, there’s no question about that. I love the Lord. So does Karen, so does everyone I know.Ah, so Stephen’s going to be the one who presents the atheist side of the debate.
So let’s talk about discrimination.
Debbie Schlussel: I think the real discrimination is from atheist against Americans that are religious.
Yeah, there’s no real discrimination against atheists. Those laws that prohibit atheists from holding office, testifying in court, or deserving equal protection under the law have either been overturned by the courts or aren’t enforced.
And they’re only in Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Arkansas. 8 states is hardly a majority of the US.
That’s 42 states, oh and Texas too. That’s 41 states where bigotry against atheists hasn’t been officially codoned. That’s 82% of the states. That’s like a B- for civil liberties.
Discrimination, shrishimistation. Those atheists have it pretty good.
Karen Hunter: They have a horrible PR rep, and they don’t have good marketing. I mean, look, if they had Hallmark cards maybe they wouldn’t feel so left out. You know, we have Christmas cards, we even have Kwanza cards now, maybe they need to get some atheist cards and get that ball rolling so more people can get involved with what they are doing.
Yeah, we should give those atheist their own holy day which can become a soulless tribute to cheap commericialism celebrated through overpriced greeting cards. Maybe then they’d shut up.
Karen Hunter: I think they need to shut up.
Karen Hunter: They need to shut up. I think they need to shut up.
Debbie Schlussel: It’s obnoxious and they do need to shut up.
They need to shut up and stop using those violent, militant tactics. Like video blogs or the legal system.Karen Hunter: Don’t impose on my right to want to have prayer in school.
Those atheists would say that they didn’t remove prayer from school, just state-mandated prayer, and that students can still form Christian clubs and pray on school grounds. But we need state-sanctioned prayer.
Debbie Schlussel: You had a case in California where school children were forced to dress as muslims and learn from the Quaran.
But we need state-sanctioned Christian prayer.
Debbie Schlussel: And what about this obnoxious Micheal Newdow who went to- all the way to the Supreme Court to for his child, the child doesn’t know what’s going on, to try and get “under God” taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance.
You could argue that the parent does have legitimate grounds for filing a lawsuit since he has a vested interest in their child’s education in a public institution.
In the Dover Area School District creationism case, the plaintiffs were parents of the high school students or had children who would later attend that high school.
But maybe the child wanted to pray, or at least be forced to pray.
Paula Zahn: What I think is so interesting is when you look at those statistics that says they were the most hated of all the minorities. Gays-
Stephen A. Smith: I’m not even willing to believe that. That’s news to me. I mean I heard that, I read that, I just don’t believe it.Yeah, don’t believe every controlled study with a sample size of thousands that you read. Atheists aren’t discriminated against. There are plenty of non-theist congressmen. One. From San Francisco.
But let’s look back to our deist founding fathers.
Debbie Schlussel: But this is a Christian country.
As we all know, the official religion of the state is Protestant Christianity, it says so right in the Establishment Clause (picture of Bill of Rights with scribbles)
The mixture of religion and state is what makes the United States as great and tolerant as it is.
Debbie Schlussel: Europe is becoming more islamist, it’s fast falling, and intolerance is increasing.
Well, I know that sounds like a vague and generalized statement, but it’s true. Check out this graph. (Graph with positive trend of “Islam” and negative trend of “Europe” and “Puppies”)
In fairness I’d like to say that the correlation between the rise of Islam and the decline of Europe and puppies does not necessarily indicate a causal relationship.
You know another thing about these atheists-
Karen Hunter: Crying wolf all the time and saying they’re being imposed upon.
Karen Hunter: What does an atheist believe? Nothing.
And what are these athe-
Karen Hunter: They need to shut up. I think they need to shut up.
Also who are they to-
Debbie Schlussel: They are on the attack, and it’s obnoxious.
Karen Hunter: They need to shut up.
And, uh…
Karen Hunter: (laughing)
Debbie Schlussel: (to Karen) Right on.
…
Debbie Schlussel: They do need to shut up.…
I’m sorry. I can’t keep up the straight face through such absurd bigotry.
Such blatant hateful words and is the reason why many atheists harbor such a bitter hostility towards religion.
Part of the reason why I decided to start making these videos is because I felt the voice of the positive side of atheism wasn’t being heard.
I was fortunate enough not to grow up in a very religious community. I didn’t face a lot of the antagonism and hostility that my friends from small towns faced from their neighbors, or teachers, or even their own family.
Karen Hunter: You can’t pick an atheist out of a crowd, I mean, I’m sorry-
Although it probably helped that I also never told anyone I was an atheist. I just mumbled something about not being very religious before changing the subject.
A lot of what I was seeing in atheist videos and web forums was this intense anger from mistreatment and not being given the same level of respect as people of other beliefs.
And despite the gains in tolerance we’ve made, it still seems like its societally acceptable to bash atheists on a CNN segment without even bothering to have one present to defend their view.
Debbie Schlussel: That’s the one reason our country has not become like Europe, because we strong Christians. And because the atheists are not strong. And I think that’s a good thing.
I don’t think that lobbing belittlement and insults makes one strong.
I don’t think that strong Christian is one who needs to coerce others to pray their prayers, needs to everyone testify God on every coin, or needs to stay willfully ignorant about what the beliefs of others really are.
Strength comes from having the courage to put your beliefs up for inspection, and willing to give up beliefs that are comforting but untrue.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this video, and you have anything to say to me about it or about atheism in general, please leave a comment.
Thanks for watching.
That was one harsh CNN programme, I’m from Britain and Christian, those people were just embarassing to watch and there comments ignorant. Just shows how people are these days. Never giving equal time to express views, lack of respect. Happens on CNN as i’v just seen, happens with evolution debates where there are 3 evolutionist against 1 non evolutionist, and the evolutionists are like a group of Bullies.
Comment on April 6, 2007 @ 8:45 am
Al!
Thank you for such a reasoned response to such a poor display of “reporting.” Three cheers for you!
Meanwhile, if you are indicative of the types of people living in San Francisco, maybe I need to rethink living on the East Coast and head west.
Comment on April 7, 2007 @ 6:53 am
Excellent video! It was very funny–even though you were dealing with a subject that’s not funny at all: bigotry. I struggle with bigotry towards atheists all the time. I’m an atheist living on the Tex-Mex border. Nearly everyone here is religious and they are surprised whenever I tell them I’m an atheist. I know they think differently of me, even though it’s obvious that I’m a nice person. I’m a happily married mom with two kids. One of my kids is autistic. I garden a lot. I’m not scary, I’m not bad and I really don’t complain about things a lot.
I’m glad that you made that video.
Comment on April 7, 2007 @ 11:09 am
It’s really bizarre reading the LJ of a friend of mine in NYC, and hearing your voice. I couldn’t stop laughing about the small-worldness of it all.
Now, to introduce him to the Masked Grader…
Comment on April 7, 2007 @ 2:06 pm
I live in Pa.(the bible belt of the East coast). I’ve had people threaten to beat me up over my beliefs or rather non beliefs. For journalists these people are really sad. I thought the media was here to present unbiased facts, not present their own bigotous opinions. I am sickened by this. They would not get away with telling Jews to shut up. Why is it OK to bash us?
Comment on April 7, 2007 @ 7:49 pm
Hi,
I’ve embedded your video in one of my blog posts. It makes its point better than any I’ve seen so far. This is “the force of YouTube” turned for the good, time well-spent in exposing bigotry at its finest!
I’m an “out of the closet” Atheist living in Ohio. I haven’t started announcing my non-belief to the world with a bullhorn, but I have tried to let some people know and have met with LOTS of resistance. The attack against Atheists seen on this show goes far to justify religion’s so-called “view” of Atheism as negative. We all need to work together to change this. Your video does a great job of getting us a little farther down that road.
Rock on!
Comment on April 8, 2007 @ 5:54 am
It sounds like Atheists that live in America get real abuse from Christians (which is disheartening) its the opposite here in Britain.
Comment on April 8, 2007 @ 11:56 am
Hi Al,
I just watched your 4th video on MetaCafe. You sounded exceptionally intelligent and showed a real grasp of reason and logical fallacies. However, your main thesis that people believe in Creation and Christianity because the implications of evolution are upsetting is not correct.
I myself was an Atheist like you and I looked down on and pitied Christians as ignorant cowards who could not face the fact that when you die that is it. I firmly believed in evolution and I was not at all upset at the implications of it.
Then one day I was in Borders Bookstore and I came across a book entitled “Tornado in a Junkyard” by James Perloff. The cover of the book stated that the theory of evolution was false and had been exhaustively disproven by science. I laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of the book and immediately opened it and began reading in order to amuse myself at the logical fallacies, circular logic and blind faith that it would surely contain.
Instead, I discovered a great deal of science that has been suppressed and ignored by “mainstream scientists”. After reading a great deal more about creation science and evolution, I came to the inescapable conclusion that suppressed science has proven that the Universe is less than 8,000 years old and that evolution has been utterly disproven. I became a Christian as a result of Creation Science, not the other way around.
As an example of suppressed science that you never hear about, I offer this short article on the speed of light: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39733
Do what I did Al, and read it just so that you can laugh at it. You may discover that you don’t know what you don’t know.
-Former Atheist, 3 Bachelors Degrees, I.Q. of 148
Comment on April 12, 2007 @ 6:20 pm
Rock on. That was an articulate and entertaining rebuttal.
Unfortunately, I have a hunch that you’re preaching to the converted, so to speak. The type of person that’s going to watch a video about positive atheism, is not going to be the kind of person that you need to convince.
The fact that CNN never even bothered to get an atheist (or even a non-Christian) guest just reaffirms this. We’re in this unfortunate position where theists standing around and congratulating each other on being correct, and atheists standing around and congratulating each other on being right.
Though I will confess that I think that the average atheist tends to be slightly more informed about the beliefs of others than the average theist…
Comment on April 14, 2007 @ 1:06 am
Hi Al,
Saw this video on Digg and, after having watched it, am impressed by both the content and your charismatic delivery. I was aghast at the CNN atheism ‘debate’ (or mutual masturbatory experience) and was sure, at first, that it was some kind of parody.
Thankfully, here in the UK, most Christians (and people of other faiths) are much less vocal about their beliefs. In fact, most middle-class Church of England believers (we have a state church, woo!) are slightly embarrassed about being a Christian - it’s just a habit, like smoking, that’s difficult to give up. The reasons for this, I feel, are that we have a reasonable science curriculum, there are fewer and fewer gaps in our knowledge in which God can hide - most of the seeming mysteries of everday existence are ruthlessly explained in a most boring manner by our secondary education system. The upside is that it effectively innoculates children against religious fundamentalism, the down-side is that it robs them of wonder, curiosity and a willingness to learn.
The second reason is that, after the rise of consumerism, the Church of England was woefully out-of-touch, and churchgoing became a ritual for the benefit of others (Matthew 6: And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men) - in the 50s, people used to use churches as social and dating clubs, paying little heed to sermons. As those roles were subsumed by bars, nightclubs, bingo halls, shopping centres, cinemas, etc, Church attendance dwindled. Most still considered themselves Christians, but did little and said little. Thirdly - the semi-official line in the CofE is that the Bible is not to be interpreted literally, they defer to science in the mechanics of the universe.
Unfortunately, the Born Again lobby in the US shares my asessment of Christianity in the UK and have started to export their money, people and repulsive views to our grey, unpleasant land. They aren’t getting very far, but that may change with Labour’s plan for Faith Schools (run by private religious concerns). Labour is convinced that Faith Schools are brilliant because they constantly outperform (academically) in the league tables. That’s wonderful - but the reason these schools do so well is that they can cherry-pick the best students. Despite this, Blair is on a quest to increase the number of Faith Schools - which will lead to indoctrination of the brightest and a diminished educational service for the rest. Genius.
Whoops, that was quite a long comment. Sorry.
Comment on April 14, 2007 @ 5:54 am
Just thought I’d offer you a touch of praise and encouragement for some well done commentary. I’ll agree with Derek and say that you are mostly preaching to the choir, but I think that, if you keep making similar videos and putting them out there, you will encourage others to do the same and it will eventually snowball. Non-believers need to start standing up for themselves in a society that is biased against them. Eventually, if enough people stand up, they will be forced to listen.
Comment on April 14, 2007 @ 6:58 am
Good commentary. I can’t tell if you are an atheist or theist (my sarcasm sense busted about a year ago so I don’t get the joke), but you might want to stop by IIDB some time. It’s a predominantly atheist community.
Comment on April 14, 2007 @ 6:45 pm
Hi!
First things first: congratulations on a masterpiece of really fair and balanced journalism! I am not american (I´m German, that´s in Europe, and I´m not islamic but an Atheist - no problem in Europe :-)), nor do I live in your country.
Seeing such an unbelievable idiocy on CNN frightens me to death, and it is no wonder everybody outside the US makes jokes about americans… how can people be so ignorant, so egoistical, so STUPID!
I am an enemy to all kind of religion, as this CNN-video is the absolutely best evidence ever that religious people are simple-minded people, incapable of leading their lives without psychological crutch. I do respect religious people though, as long as they let me live my life.
Mixing religion and politics has always been and will always be cause for injustice, discrimination and war. That is why it is separated from each other in most countries.
It´s just bad, very bad, and it makes me very sad that beliefs like those expressed by these morons on CNN are not a thing of the medieval, as I always thought.
It is very sad to see that a country so full of marvellous things, so rich of history, with so many fantastic people has to suffer under a regime of blatant imbeciles with an IQ probably lower than their shoe size… poor USA.
Once again: great work from your side, and I do hope that more people will open their eyes and that the US will make a u-turn for the best!
Comment on April 14, 2007 @ 6:48 pm
I just want to say once again, that you rock!
It makes me sad to see our neighbours to the south sliding down the hole into theocracy and ignorance. It’s nice to see Americans standing up for reason, science, and good sense.
Keep it real!
Comment on April 14, 2007 @ 7:26 pm
Directed at anti-nonsense/AtheistCanuck:
It’s not just Americans that are sliding down the hole into theocracy and ignorance. Take a look at Canada. We currently submit to the Conservative Party under the leadership of Stephen Harper. Granted he’s no George Bush, but Ol’ Harper is a self-described Christian man, who has stated that his religious beliefs contribute to his stances on gay marriage and reproductive rights. His MPs are about the same.
Not to mention the numerous social problems caused by non-Christian religions. Point in case, the growing problem with Indo-Canadian organized crime. Police investigation is often stymied due to uncooperative communities protecting individuals — largely based on a sense of religious unity. Additionally, it’s not uncommon to hear about misogynistic abuse, even murder, in such religious communities stemming from and related to issues like arranged marriages or religious ideals (submission, deference, etc.)
I agree that America is currently suffering from a plague of Evangelism and Fundamentalism, but Canada has our own share of “I.D.” Proponents, medieval politicians, and non-Christian extremists. Even in a metropolitan, cosmopolitan centre like Vancouver, religions (Christianity/Sihkism/Hinduism/Islam, primarily) thrive and compete for power.
So don’t get too comfortable.
Comment on April 14, 2007 @ 10:11 pm
You sir are part of the reason why atheism is going through a strong point at the moment and unifying around rational thought and pride in who we are because of a rally around rationalism. And christians like those in the CNN segment are part of the reason I’m more and more considering myself a militant atheism(though I’m really not, simply a proud one at this point).
Comment on April 15, 2007 @ 12:43 am
i absolutely loved the video. everything rang true and made sense. This vid really hit home for me. good job!
Comment on April 15, 2007 @ 6:28 am
Great video! Exposes those CNN folks for their true nature.
Comment on April 15, 2007 @ 10:55 am
Wow great video. You know what your talking about. I am an in the closet atheist so its kinda troubling when I hear people ridicule them and just nod my head to get by. Nice video.
Comment on April 15, 2007 @ 4:36 pm
I am 17, atheist since I was 6, Truely. Like Susan, I also live on the tex-mex
border, El Paso to be exact, and the community is predominently catholic. My
friends know I’m an athiest, but they are the only ones. My family would surely
beat me if they knew the truth, because they are the super christians of the world
and don’t even tolerate someone who is demoncratic as opposed to republican. My
grandma on my step father’s side is even a reverand, although i though that was
unorthodox in the christian world, but i dont know, I haven’t looked into it.
Anyway, I love you for making this video. I was angered to the point of yelling
“What the f***?!” im my family’s living room when i saw this on cnn. I flipped
off the television when the blonde said that atheists are weak, or rather yet,
not strong. I would consider myself strong. I am a platoon sergeant in JROTC
and a member of the physical fitness team and the armed drill team, to be varsity
next year. I don’t get a lot of bullying from other class mates due to the fact
that I am 6′4″ and most of the other’s in the school as far as males are concerned
are about 5′7″ 5′8″ish. But my friends do, as 4 of mine are also atheists. I
love to see people stand up for atheists, as so many times I’ve had to hold my
own during conversations where i’ve been told that being an atheist is a mental
disorder, even by my own teachers.
So anyway, I just want to give you my respect. I hope to see that one day
atheists will be respected as much as the majority, although i doubt it, just look
at how muslims and even african americans are treated sometimes.
See Ya
Comment on April 16, 2007 @ 1:33 am
Wait, ive just realized how retarded my last comment was, i said i was strong based
on my status. Noone is strong based on status in my mind, i just didnt make my whole
statement. I really meant to say that i believe i am i strong atheist because
i have the will to perservere and better my self, mainly intellectually, although
i still cant spell worth a shit half the time. I pride my self on being self
sufficient and intellectual though and sometimes i think i gain a superiority-
complex because of it. Anyway, the point is i can hold my own and think for my-
self and that’s what makes me strong. My last comment was wee todd edd.
Comment on April 16, 2007 @ 2:09 am
If what ur saying is true about ur family and that they might beat you if they knew that your an atheist i wouldn’t call them ’super Christians’, more like ‘psycho/crazy people’. I’m a Christian, (soz for the Biblical stuff coming up but) being a Christian is all about love, and trying to act like Christ. I don’t think Jesus beat up the people who were his friends/he loved because they didn’t believe he. Just because they may say they are Christian, they go to church, and they live in a part which is Christian doesn’t mean they are Christian Biblically, and its people like your family members, radicals, politians etc who say they are Christians but don’t even do what Jesus said that dents the name.
In the Bible it says ‘give reasons for the hope that you have with kindness and respect’. The CNN programme people were doing neither of those things. I feel for you to be a situation where you can’t tell your own family what you think, to me, living in Britain also 17 years of age, i think that’s CRAZY.
Comment on April 16, 2007 @ 6:50 am
having grown up in TN(which is like the worst place to be if your atheist) i did experiance predjudice from adults nieghboors kides teachers parents its all a whole lot of BS in any case i liked the video response check into TN thou place is run by baptists and church of christ no liquor in grocery stores cant buy liquor on sunday cant drive down any road without seeing at least one church and if u are atheist it means u worship the devil
Comment on April 16, 2007 @ 9:26 am
Hey Al, I loved your video about CNN. When I first saw that episode of CNN, I did a little research and found the e-mail addresses of all three of the panelists: Steven Smith — ssmith@phillynews.com, Debbie Schlussel — dschlussel@yahoo.com, and everyone’s favorite, Karen Hunter — khuntercolumn@aol.com. I also did a whole show on the CNN situation. A few weeks ago, CNN ran a number of pro-Christian (so called) stories on their website. One amounted to an advertisement for an anti-porn church. I really didn’t see the news value in the piece at all. I also e-mailed Paula’s producer. I didn’t get much of a response and my dialog didn’t end up amounting to anything. Keep up the good work. We all have to start to keep a close eye on CNN. If you watch something that seems to promote Christianity or attack atheism, please let me know. Be Dangerous,
-Staks
http://www.DangerousTalk.net
Comment on April 16, 2007 @ 4:42 pm
I can’t help but applaud your calm delivery during this video. It is far too easy to get carried away with frustration when faced with the closed-mindedness that was featured so readily in the subject CNN segment. Keep up the good work… that is to say: calm, measured response to hypocritical bigots. Eventually they will all pop a vein in their heads from getting so worked up. We can hope.
Comment on April 16, 2007 @ 4:47 pm
Great video. I love the slightly-humoristic-but-then-again-more-profund-than-anything-else approach. But I must admit I was stunned by the CNN content and the fact that you guys over in the States need to actually defend your atheism.
As you can gather, I’m not American. I live in Quebec, the francophone province of Canada. Here, the State was very tight with the Church until what we call the “Quiet Revolution” in 1960 (Yes, we Canadians are so nice even our revolutions are quiet). Now, religious belief is a marginal phenomenon here. I teach in college and on 100 students, I may have about 20 that are religious on some level. That doesn’t mean a lot of them don’t have a spiritual life, but there is widely spread suspiscion toward organized religion here nowadays. Maybe that comes from our French background. In France, there’s a very strong tradition of atheism, and the cleavage between the State and the church has been the norm for a long time now.
The funny thing is biggots and religious people (as opposed to spiritual people) always feel the need to point out how wrong the people who think differently from them are, and they feel the need to do recruiting (or “conversions”?) while Atheist just don’t give a damn. They don’t want to convert anyone. They just want to discuss and are often genuinely curious in other people’s belief. Can we help it if we have the bad habbit of pointing out the logical flaws that are at the core of most surnatural/religious belief? If a brother and a sister can’t have kids and let them have kids of their own together without getting unviable people at the end because of inbreeding, how can we all come from Adam and Eve? Unless we’re all the defective offspring… That would explain certain US presidents…;)
Comment on April 16, 2007 @ 5:20 pm
Good job on the rebuttal. CNN needs to be called out on its bullshit. As if fascist propaganda outlets like Fox News isn’t enough, why CNN needs to jump on the Christian pandering bandwagon I’ll never understand. Next special “Why atheists are the cause of school violence in this country” I can see Zahn now moderating the debate among a wide diverse panel of baptists, methodists and lutherans.
Comment on April 16, 2007 @ 6:29 pm
I think you might like to consider moving to Australia mate ;) I can’t say I have ever encountered a single religious person that was discriminatory due to me being an atheist. A few argumentative types, but nothing you wouldn’t face being a Christian talking to other people with different beliefs. I haven’t spent any time in the U.S. so I can’t offer any kind of inteligent opinion as to the state of things there.
And what do atheists believe? Well this one believes that anything is possible, that we are all more than we think and are capable of performing miracles when determined enough. I even believe that that Christians will one day understand that when the bible said they should harbor no hate, it really meant it, and it wasn’t just a suggestion and wasn’t meant exclusively for other Christians. Hey… I can dream.
Comment on April 17, 2007 @ 12:17 am
Excellent work - keep it up. Maybe we should all unite. I’ve
been an atheist my whole life (I’m 53) and I’ve never heard
anyone stand up for us like this. It’s wonderful. I also
didn’t really appreciate how much we are maligned by the
Christian right and others until I saw your video. This
is an important cause - run with it!
Comment on April 17, 2007 @ 7:57 am
Well said, well put, well constructed. I am an agnostic living in Mexico and get similar crap all the time. Over here it is SO bad that (1) they have no idea what agnostic means and (2) they think anyone who is not catholic does not believe in god or does not believe in “the real” god.
Ignorance is the real enemy here… unfortunately civil society does not nurture a “cause” if it is not “IN.” It took Al Gore to make a movie to create this global warming frenzy (which is bullshit because no one really does anything about it… they just paste their little stickers on guitar cases, buy the movie, etc. but are too lazy walk a couple of blocks so they take their low efficiency consumig vehicles to the corner. It took Bono to push the “ONE” Campaign which in reality does not INVOLVE people, it just gives them a happy looking bracelet that makes them feel good about themselves.
I agree with a comment above saying you are preaching to the converted… so what can we do? Make non-converted see your video! Maybe if we link it tagged as “christian-safe porn”!!! hahaha
All the best to you,
Arjan Shahani, Monterrey Mexico.
Comment on April 17, 2007 @ 12:02 pm
This was an absolutely perfect response to CNN’s video. Keep up the good work!
Comment on April 17, 2007 @ 12:09 pm
You sir, have a great way with words.
I too watched that video, and had many discussions with friends about it. They had an athiest on the next night or something along those lines, but it was still the same dumb game. They tried to steam roll her, and although she tried very hard to stand up, the theists spoke louder and she eventually gave up. Another note to all of us, dont plan to go on Fox news as a guest to a panel, because you are bound to be torn apart, unless you a) believe in god, b) believe in george bush, c) believe in shitty one sided “news”. So unless you believe in something that begins with the letter g, or is shitty, you probably wont find much support on fox.
Thank you so much for your video.
I wish you well.
Comment on April 17, 2007 @ 12:41 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lKNpcRP9kg&NR=1
Comment on April 17, 2007 @ 4:05 pm
Nice job, keep it up. I often feel that the foundation on which atheism stands is so rejected by the majority of society, to accomadate their sense of normalcy and well-being, that it’s mere mention is beyond their comprehension and rejected somewhat violently at times. Why does the populous of today accept the testimony of said “prophets” writing at the will of god, centuries ago? Again, we need more of you….please.
Comment on April 17, 2007 @ 8:54 pm
Micheal dickson is right about being an atheist in TN! I live in a county where the elected County Commissioner (like a mayor of the county) decided it would be a fantastic idea to put up the Ten Commandments in the courthouse. Thankfully, those Establishment Clause aware folks at the ACLU came to town and talked about 50,000 dollars worth of sense into said Commissioner. Now this fool is on a campaign to have the Ten Pre-Science Rules of Life posted in as many businesses/homes as possible. What year is it again???
I’ve started calling out some of the worse Christianist types on a local talk radio show — it blows peoples’ minds to hear a reason-based response from an atheist viewpoint because all they’re used to is the gutter-level “discourse” offered by CNN and other *wonderful US media.
Thanks for this brilliant video response — made my day. Now, I have SERIOUSLY got to get the eff out of Bible-belt land.
Comment on April 18, 2007 @ 9:28 am
Brilliant response to a very very poor debate.one cannot even call it a debate.
such close mindedness is what builds the divide they so readily accuse us of forming.
we got the same type of attitude to deal with here in south africa.
its strange how christians can stand there and denounce another persons views on life so openly and still defend their religion and beliefs and not be ashamed of themselves.
So much for love thy neighbour…
your clever minded response puts them to shame with such style.
nice one dude.
Comment on April 19, 2007 @ 4:14 am
Nicely done and thank you for your service to humanity. I started to watch the CNN piece and shortly turned it off; I dislike propaganda. CNN unfortunately has gone from a moderate news forum to a hot bed of religious ideology. I wonder if all the bible DVD ads have something to do with it? Keep up the good work.
Comment on April 19, 2007 @ 8:43 am
I’ve always thought that one of the strengths of Atheism is the lack of required group approval that is so necessary to organized religion. The Atheist is free to formulate his/her own opinion based on personal observation and not on the decree of some authoritative higher power, supernatural or otherwise. The CNN commentary underlines the root of their criticism, that somehow the “godless atheist” cannot be a moral and responsible person, as they have no god to threaten them or promise them some kind of reward for good behavior. In my opinion, the good atheist shows the highest form of personal responsibility as they behave in a socially conscious way by choice, not coercion.
The best response to any criticism of Atheism is no response. Atheism should free you from having to care about this kind of rhetoric, as you have no one to answer to but yourself.
Comment on April 19, 2007 @ 8:55 am
Dude,
Nice video, keep up the good work. Well argued and good use of media. Shame one of the major networks hasn’t aired it…
Comment on April 19, 2007 @ 5:29 pm
It is so sad to see an organisation such as CNN display such bigotry and hatred. I have been listening to some interviews with Sam Harris and was surprised to note the levels of fundamentalist belief in the USA.
In Australia there is a much milder debate taking place regarding religion. Australians generally distrust any extreme position including fundamentalist Christian beliefs. Unfortunately atheism is maligned as part of political correctness. It usually only gets discussed in the media around Christmas time when the merits of Christmas parties and shopping mall displays of nativity scenes are on the agenda. For the rest of the year, nobody cares very much. Serious churchgoers and atheists are viewed as wowsers (killjoys). A program such as that CNN panel would be laughed at. If however, someone tried to take away an office Christmas drinks party, there would be a great deal of media attention.
Comment on April 21, 2007 @ 3:47 am
I agree with every point of your analysis, well done. Why are people offended by atheists and secular government?
Its hard to get a clear understanding of people’s tolerances from watching the media, especially when they’re usually just out for a good sound byte. I can only hope that we are moving towards an open future, but that’s (intentionally?) impossible to judge from most TV news networks.
Heh, anyway, I think most atheists watch PBS.
- Aaron
Agnostic from Texas
Comment on April 22, 2007 @ 8:52 pm
Make more videos, damn it!
Comment on April 26, 2007 @ 7:55 am
That was a fabulous clip. It was pointed out to me in a group on myspace. I am ashamed I lack the same even-handed approach to confronting such inane bullshit as that CNN segment - which I had seen before and simply shut down my computer in frustration. You have inspired me.
thanks
Comment on April 27, 2007 @ 9:29 pm
By nature, atheists are not evangelistically inclined. Quite rightly so in my opinion. On the other hand — when embattled — it’s no mean thing to find such a worthy spokesman. All power to your elbow, Al. You might not be saying anything particularly new to died-in-the-wool infidels like me … but, gosh, you put the case so well. It’s always good to find someone of your calibre, able and willing to stand up for common sense and common decency. Cheers. Neil in France.
Comment on May 17, 2007 @ 6:26 am
when you said the corilation between the decile in puppies due to islam was it because of the prohibition of pet dogs in islam?
Comment on May 19, 2007 @ 7:32 pm
Didnt they allow Dr. Richard Dawkins to come on CNN a few days after this? I’m pretty sure they did. It still doesn’t change the fact that they hold heated debates…that are….one sided..
But it’s CNN. And they’re biased.
Comment on May 25, 2007 @ 5:35 am
That was a great video blog!
Comment on June 2, 2007 @ 7:10 pm
I like it. Very insightful. What was the music in the beginning
Comment on July 6, 2007 @ 6:15 am
Brilliant.
You have a gift for political satire, and really need to keep this up. I could easily see you with your own satire show ala The Daily Show.
I’ll be linking to you in various places.
Comment on July 16, 2007 @ 3:02 pm
Thank you. I became an atheist, (I should say admitted my lack of belief) late in life. I regret that, but feel a certain hope for mankind’s future when I see other atheists living openly. This is important because those who are raised in a religious environment (and most are) need to have available truths about atheism that they won’t get from the religious dogma of their parents. No one can really make a choice when they are not aware of the options. I don’t see it as atheism growing so much as ignorance receeding and like anything worth having, it’s going to take effort.
Thank you for your great contribution!
Comment on September 8, 2007 @ 9:07 am
nice vid, liked it a lot. ^_^ thx for letting some people to know what atheist beleive.
Comment on September 21, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
Nice work, Albert! I enjoyed the video very much. I wish there were more people as intelligent and reasonable as you working in the media.
Come to think of it, I just wish there were more people as intelligent and reasonable as you. Sigh.
Ed
Comment on February 11, 2008 @ 3:52 pm