As you are reading this, there is a good chance that the Freethought Table is actively welcoming visitors at the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee. The table is being operated in the air conditioned South Exhibit Hall from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., August 2 to 12.
The table is a 10 x 10 area with professional looking signs announcing "Wisconsin Freethought Table" and a large map of Wisconsin, with marks showing the location of the sponsors: AAW, Humanist Quest of Milwaukee, the North East Wisconsin Humanists of Green Bay, and Freedom From Religion Foundation. Other national organizations being represented are the American Humanist Association, the Secular Students Alliance, and the Atheist Alliance International There are variations of the Darwin-in-a- fish car emblems on our sign.
Our table is located between the Solatube lighting and vents display and a vendor selling purses and wall hangings from Mexico. Across the aisle is the Iron Fireman heating and cooling display, Emu products, and the Fuller Brush company. Thankfully, all of our neighbors have been very friendly and supportive!
About 70% of passers by at least look over our booth. About one in sixty people actually stop and at least read the covers of our literature. There are many double and triple takes as folks try to figure out what we're "selling." We're about tied with the Emu oil booth across the aisle in terms of numbers of visitors. The Iron Fireman display gets the most visitors because it has vents that blow cold air down onto the visitors.
Many of the people who stop are interested in where they can obtain the Darwin Fish emblems. We have, amongst our literature, order forms that include a page with information about our sponsors. About one in seven who stop at the table express some negativity, usually by quickly leaving, occasionally grimacing, or rolling their eyes when they realize it's for the non-religious. A few times each day someone tries to save our souls. About one-sixth of the people who stop by take some literature. Still, there are hundreds of folks who pass by every hour and every couple hours someone stops and thanks us for having the booth or gives us the "thumbs up" and a smile as they pass by. This makes it all worthwhile.
Eric Hildeman has had complete control over the table. He made the signs, decorated the table, chose the literature, and has staffed it for nearly the whole time. What a way to spend his vacation! He deserves great accolades for all his efforts! The literature is predominately humanist with little controversial or political materials. My pamphlet, included with this newsletter, has been a popular item. You can help out with the table or just convey good wishes, by calling our phone at the Fair table: (414) 476-9402.
AAW will be holding its
August meeting at the fair this month. And there will be cream puffs!
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AAW will meet from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., on Sunday,
Park in the South Parking Lot off 84th St.
Atheists and Agnostics of Wisconsin (AAW)
e-mail: aaw@atheistalliance.org
Visit our website at www.atheistalliance.org/aaw/ |
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Love is the only bow on Life's dark cloud. It is the morning and the evening star. It shines upon the babe, and sheds its radiance on the quiet tomb. It is the mother of art, inspirer of poet, patriot and philosopher. It is the air and light of every heart -- builder of every home, kindler of every fire on every hearth. It was the first to dream of immortality. It fills the world with melody -- for music is the voice of love. Love is the magician, the enchanter that changes worthless things to Joy, and makes royal kings and queens of common clay. It is the perfume of that wondrous flower, the heart, and without that sacred passion, that divine swoon, we are less than beasts; but with it, earth is heaven, and we are gods. - Robert G. Ingersoll, 1833-1899
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To discover the true principles of morality, men have no need of theology, of revelation, or of gods. They need but common sense. They have only to look within themselves, to reflect upon their own nature, to consult their obvious interests, to consider the object of society and of each of the members who compose it, and they will easily understand that virtue is an advantage, and that vice is an injury to beings of the species. Let us teach men to be just, benevolent, moderate, and sociable, not because their gods exact it, but to please men. Let us tell them to abstain from vice and crime, not because they will be punished in another world, but because they will suffer in the present world. - Jean Meslier, (1678-1733) A Catholic priest who kept his atheism to himself while alive and revealed it to the world after death. From: Le Bon Sens |
DECLARATION OF HUMANIST PRINCIPLES
(1) Humanism aims at the full development of every human being.
(2) Humanists uphold the broadest application of democratic principles in all human relationships.
(3) Humanists advocate the use of the scientific method, both as a guide to distinguish fact from fiction and to help develop beneficial and creative uses of science and technology.
(4) Humanists affirm the dignity of every person and the right of the individual to maximum possible freedom compatible with the rights of others.
(5) Humanists acknowledge human interdependence, the need for mutual respect and the kinship of all humanity.
(6) Humanists call for the continued improvement of society so that no one may be deprived of the basic necessities of life, and for institutions and conditions to provide every person with opportunities for developing their full potential.
(7) Humanists support the development and extension of fundamental human freedoms, as expressed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and supplemented by UN International Covenants comprising the United Nations Bill of Human Rights.
(8) Humanists advocate peaceful resolution of conflicts between individuals, groups, and nations.
(9) The humanist ethic encourages development of the positive potentialities in human nature, and approves conduct based on a sense of responsibility to oneself and to all other persons.
(10) A fundamental principle of humanism is the rejection of beliefs held in absence of verifiable evidence, such as beliefs based solely on dogma, revelation, mysticism or appeals to the supernatural.
(11) Humanists affirm that individual and social problems can only be resolved by means of human reason, intelligent effort, critical thinking joined with compassion and a spirit of empathy for all living beings
(12) Humanists affirm that human beings are completely a part of nature, and that our survival is dependent upon a healthy planet which provides us and all other forms of life with a life-supporting environment.
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ALL FAITH-BASED PROGRAMS? An August 3rd AP story run in many newspapers reported that cabinet secretaries could convert up to $47 billion worth of social spending into vouchers. Participants in after-school, anti-crime, and other programs could shop around for religious or secular services, under legislation approved by the U.S. House. The voucher provision for 10 government programs received little attention as the central legal issues were hotly debated. The voucher provision circumvents those upset about "direct funding." It's unclear to what degree those who are actually being served by voucher-funded social programs would actually control to whom their voucher money goes. Unlike secular groups that receive direct funding, voucher- funded religious organizations could include religious instruction or prayer and require that participants take part. It's generally agreed that this ''indirect funding'' of religious groups is more likely to pass constitutional challenges than direct funding, since it keeps government one step removed from the church. But allowing Cabinet secretaries to convert programs into vouchers with the stroke of a pen raises entirely different questions. It could allow for significant changes in how nearly a dozen programs are run without any debate in Congress or elsewhere. Among the programs potentially affected: juvenile justice, housing, services for the elderly, child abuse, domestic violence, hunger relief and after-school programs. About this provision, Representative Bobby Scott, Democrat of Virginia said, ''There has been no thought given to this voucher authority. It was just stuck in there. 'They figure they can get money passed around through the back door that they couldn't get through the front door.'' The debate over vouchers has been particularly fierce in education, where supporters want to give parents money to attend private schools and opponents fear that funds will be drained from public schools. Vouchers have been less contentious in other programs, such as housing. It is unclear which of the programs included in the bill, now pending in the Senate, might be converted to vouchers or how controversial it might be. Representative Todd Tiahrt, Republican of Kansas
and a strong supporter of this bill acknowledged that the voucher provision
would not have passed the House had it not been buried inside the larger
bill: ''It would not have stood alone.''
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President Bush's faith-based initiative is a bad idea on so many levels that it should be declared a national disaster. Unfortunately, that would make it eligible for government grants and loans. That means the government would be paying the government to pay faith-based organizations to do what their faith calls them to do anyway - help people. I'm only half kidding. There's no telling how absurd this faith-based folly will become, if it becomes law. Bush wants to make churches and other faith-based organizations eligible to receive billions of dollars in federal funds. They could use the money to provide all sorts of social services, from hunger relief to housing. The faith-based initiative cleared the House last month. Maybe we can amend the First Amendment to say: "Congress shall make no law respecting the public funding of a faith-based establishment or prohibiting the divinely inspired work thereof." Otherwise, we may start doing both. "This bill is not about church. It's not about state. Rather, it's about serving the poor and needy," Rep. J. C. Watts, a Republican and Baptist of Oklahoma, said in support of the initiative. Actually, congressman, it's about the state paying the church to serve the poor and needy. Imagine the church paying the state to pave highways or bomb the bad guys. Bush and others who support the initiative say the church is so good at helping people that government should help the church do more of it. "Faith heals, faith renews, faith gives the hope that this country needs," Rep. Charles Pickering, a Republican and Southern Baptist of Mississippi, said, also in support of the initiative. That's exactly right, congressman. Faith heals, renews, and gives hope - not government. Faith-based ministries for the poor and needy work because they're faith-based, not government-based. What will happen when we turn churches and other religious groups into government subcontractors? For one thing, religious groups will be sending out press releases like this one from the Council of American-Islamic Relations, dated July 25, 2001. "A number of American Muslim groups met today with John DiIulio Jr., director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The Muslim leaders characterized the meeting as 'frank and constructive.'" I can see it now. A press release from the Council of Government-Church Relations, dated July 25, 2010: "A number of government auditors attended worship today at the tax-subsidized Government Street Baptist Church in Mobile, Ala. The auditors characterized the pastor's sermon as 'frank and constructive.' " Speaking of being frank, wasn't it just last year when presidential candidate Bush had this to say about providing public funds to another American Muslim group, the Nation of Islam: "I don't see how we can allow public dollars to fund programs where spite and hate is the core of the message." Besides the fact that we do it all the time (e.g., sanctions against Iraq that are killing thousands of children a year), such frankness could lead to some sectarian tension, especially with billions of tax dollars on the line. So who gets to decide which religious
groups are ineligible for federal funds? The Methodist- controlled
White House? The Catholic-dominated Congress? Maybe more important,
and a bit further down the road, who gets to decide whether to raise taxes
or cut faith-based programs? Such decisions might require some back-room
dealing or maybe just some back-altar dealing. The initiative has
a whole section on "accountability." Faith-based organizations will be
required to segregate government and private contributions. How will
we know if your church is properly segregating all that money?
- David Waters,
Editors Note: Using vouchers eliminates the much debated requirement for segregating monies. |
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