Press release: New bus signs on Nov. 2, continuing through Dec. 27
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Paul Case
President of Seattle Atheists
P.O. Box 283, Seattle, WA 98111-0283
(206) 826-0770
president@seattleatheists.org
www.seattleatheists.org
SEATTLE ATHEISTS LAUNCHES SECOND WAVE OF BUS ADS
Seattle, WA, Oct. 2009 — Beginning on Nov. 2, and continuing through Dec. 27, Seattle Atheists will roll out a second series of interior ads on King County Metro downtown routes. The three new signs feature the following quotes:
“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” — Carl Sagan
“The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason.” — Ben Franklin
“Religions are all alike — founded upon fables and mythologies.” — Thomas
Jefferson
These new signs, like those in our first series, are intended to educate people in Seattle about the rich American legacy of skepticism and critical thought, and to provide a rebuttal to religious fundamentalists who have spread the fallacy that the United States was founded as a
Christian state.
Seattle Atheists believes it is necessary to counteract attempts by the American religious right to retroactively and falsely cast our Founding Fathers and cherished public figures as posthumous members of their movement or supporters of their theocratic agenda. The United States is not, and was not, founded as a “Christian nation,” and these ads are intended to help illustrate that.
“The Founding Fathers could not have been clearer in both the First Amendment, their own writings, or the very first treaty the United States signed in 1796,” says Seattle Atheists president Paul Case. “There is a ‘wall of separation’ between church and state, and this country is founded on secular, not religious principles.”
Seattle Atheists will also be launching a fundraising campaign to expand our outreach efforts to include signs on the outside of buses as well for a future series of ads.
Seattle Atheists is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to serving the atheist community in the Seattle area. We strive to promote understanding and respect toward all freethinkers by providing information, creating a sense of fellowship, actively opposing discrimination, and above all, emphasizing reason, critical thinking over supernaturalism and the separation of church and state.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Paul Case, President of Seattle Atheists, (206) 826-0770,
president@seattleatheists.org
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You do not, under any kind of decent moral standing have the right to target children with your ads. The idea of using a child fantasy such as Santa Claus to attract their attention is just as moral as Camel cigarettes using Joe the Camel to sell their garbage.
I am all for your free rights of speech. You have a right to push your ideas. Just as I have a right to push what I believe in. But, SHOVING your NON beliefs down the throats of children that have other cultures is unacceptable.
I just read your news release. Using the founding fathers as you are, if you have legitimate proof of their religious standings is one thing. But having a giant Santa Claus to get little childrens attention is very immoral. What were you thinking?
Then again, religion is often the foundation of teaching morals, so maybe that is what has happened with your decision making ability?
How would you like me to stand somewhere your child/grand childre, or someone in your organizations young people, and tell them you are a liar? Just as your ad says to our children? Would you like your child to pass such contradiction of what you teach? Maybe I should put some ads out there with, I don’t know, a super hero,with a big ad as ignorant as yours, stating, “I got all my powers from God”
Everyone in this world has a right to believe what they do, and to raise their families the way they find to be the truest in their hearts.
What this ad is trying to accomplish is the very thing you are supposedly fighting!
You attempt to brainwash people! Leave MY children alone.
Dear Ms. Baron,
Thank you so much for your considered and carefully worded observations and critique of the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s (http://www.ffrf.org) bus ads on our (Seattle Atheists) web site. As you have read the above press release (which nowhere mentions either Santa Claus or Virginia), I’m sure you are aware that our signs contain quotes from prominent individuals, and don’t even contain artwork.
However, I’m sure that the people who designed that ad would be very interested in what you have to say. If you would like to direct your comments to the correct party? Meanwhile, may I direct your attention to this blog post regarding your above comment: http://www.seattleatheists.org/2009/11/12/a-comment-recently-received/
Thank you for visiting our website!
Best of luck to you,
Amanda, VP of Seattle Atheists