Seattle Atheists

I’m new to Seattle Atheists and to atheist activism, and I have enough on my plate, but I will gladly be your back-up candidate for Member at Large, in case there aren’t enough other candidates. Say, if one of the others gets raptured by mistake or something.

Dawkins says children are born atheists. In my case, it stuck. I wouldn’t say “under God” during the Pledge of Allegiance starting in 3rd grade. But I learned early on that atheism should be kept quiet, to avoid those horrified over-reactions and unwarranted assumptions about my morality & my soul. Uncalled for, but unfortunately still widespread. I now work in health care. People tend to assume that I must be Christian, and I don’t feel I can “come out” at work. I’m interested in helping put a more visible and positive face on atheism, as long as I don’t have to be out front, alone, when it happens.

I have Board experience for 3 years in a coop preschool. Unusual for an atheist, I actually joined a church 2 years ago.  (Don’t worry – it’s not catching.) It’s a UU church, where I’d guess about half the members are atheists & where social action projects are always underway.

I have some ideas to float, but I don’t have to be on the Board to share them. For example: The almighty Google says the last essay about atheism in the Seattle Times was written by someone from the Discovery Institute. We could write & submit an essay, perhaps urging “democracy not theocracy”, or perhaps simply explaining atheism & debunking misconceptions. Those who agree to be named could sign it, & the number given of those who endorse it but wish to remain anonymous. Second, if OK in tax law, Seattle Atheists could be a middleman for charitable donations.  We could identify some charities which publish names of donor groups in their reports  Atheists who are so inclined would donate to Seattle Atheists, then a specified percentage of those donations would be given by S.A. to the identified charities. Donors get the tax deduction, the people served by the charities benefit, and Seattle Atheists gets the “credit.” (It’s almost like giving anonymously & asking that you be listed as “atheist” in their records.)

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We are seeing an unprecedented surge of interest and enthusiasm in atheism, and Seattle Atheists has an opportunity to be a leader in the Freethought movement in the Puget Sound region. The importance of this cannot be understated as we continually witness attacks from Religious Right extremists on our civil liberties, privacy, and personal freedoms, especially the freedom not to believe.

Of course, the success of any organization is dependent on the dedication of its members, and especially of its board members.  And this includes the day-to-day functions that are critical to maintaining the vitality and strength of that organization.

As such, I am proud to have served as treasurer since the founding of Seattle Atheists, and I would be honored to continue serving in this role.

admin Election Board, Elections 08

My name is Sam Mulvey, and I have been nominated to be a Member at Large for Seattle Atheists, a nomination I heartily accept.

I am a newcomer to the organization, and also to public atheism. Mystical concepts such as god or creation never really spoke to me as much as the sense of community and the social interface religion provides its membership. As someone committed to the concept of community, I have tried to divine the positive psychological aspects of spirituality from superstition.

Fortunately, I found another place that I feel serves many of the same benefits: bars. As I learned about the historic tradition of pubs and coffee houses, I grew to understand that they can serve as centers of philosophy and learning as well as centers of food and drink. My goal is to create a space outside of religion for such communal activities and fellowship, and I have developed a skill set that would be appropriate: I cook, I brew, I can tend bar, plus I have an amateur’s interest in human psychology.

I think many of these skills are useful to the Seattle Atheists group. Essentially, I am focused on establishing a positive atheist community and social context. To me, public image is a reflection of social context. Community outreach is a perfect forum for building such a context.

To that end, in addition to anything that will be required of me, my personal focus will be on interoperability with other atheist organizations. I am presently an organizing member of the Tacoma Atheist Meetup, working with and for Amanda Banerji. I have started a project to bring a show about the atheist community to the local airwaves and online podcast reserves. I intend for it to focus on how the atheist and skeptical community can better communicate with itself and the world around us.

My professional life differs quite strongly from all of this, and could be a much more immediate interest to Seattle Atheists. I am an internet technology contractor, with specialized skill in AJAX, or more commonly “Web 2.0″ websites.  Other potential board members have platforms mentioning spearheading a new SA website, and I would be happy to bring what skills I have to bear on such a project. This would start with a better integrated website, but could lead to a streamlined book keeping and administrative process.

Furthermore, I would like to extend that work into a common technology platform for all member organizations of the Northwest Freethought Coalition in order to promote better community building.

I feel that my technological skills and social interests could be of use to the Seattle Atheist community, and I offer them freely.  If you agree with this assessment, I would welcome your support for a Member at Large position on the board of Seattle Atheists.

-Sam

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Hello. My name is Amanda Banerji, and I am pleased to have been nominated for Vice President of Seattle Atheists.

Ten years ago, I declared myself a non-believer to family and friends. Since then, I have learned much about how Atheists are viewed by the general public. Because we are essentially outsiders, in the sense that we don’t naturally have a locus around which to gather, or a common doctrine. Our ideas are not always in agreement; we are easily and often misrepresented, and make a convenient target. And because we have  representatives of all stripes, we are viewed with distrust, anger, and not a little confusion.

I moved here three years ago from central Florida, from an environment that was openly hostile to non-believers. It was at this time that my ideas about the future role of Atheism began to take shape.

I have several friends in the gay community in central Florida who have been working to promote public acceptance of gay and lesbian couples through education, information, and presence. Every month, gay and lesbian couples are encouraged to walk in a mall simply holding hands — acting like everyone else. They emphasize that being gay is simply another way of being normal. The repetition and consistency reduces the perceived threat. This continues to be an effective strategy to positively broadcast their presence, and while some people have been hostile, there has been a general outpouring of support.

I believe that there needs to be a shift in the way Atheists are viewed by the public. Many outspoken Atheists have been mislabeled as “militant,” and extremists from both sides have dominated the public discourse. We’ve suffered repeated snipes from pundits, religious leaders, and politicians. The Rational Response Squad, Pat Condell, and various anti-religion blogs are doing much to undermine the perception of Atheism and polarize public opinion by using insulting language and promoting extremist viewpoints.

We need to alter public perception, first by being extremely clear about our views and goals. We need to have a positive public presence. We need to interact with our communities, including the churches, synagogues and temples, so that they know who we are and what we do and do not stand for. We need to be openly Atheist in a way that is not threatening to people who know little or nothing about our views.

In June, I founded the Tacoma Atheists Meetup, simply as a way to meet other Atheists locally. In just three months, the group has grown to 32 members, and continues to grow. Our mission has evolved over the past few months, from a purely social group to one that emphasizes charity, education, outreach, and interfaith dialogue.

Our first group event will be the Pierce County AIDS walk on Sept. 6. We have made food deliveries to people in need, and are sending messages of support to cancer patients. In addition, we have a Facebook forum, called “Atheists and Theists for Mutual Understanding.” I have spoken with two local pastors about starting discussion groups. They were incredibly receptive, but a bit stunned.

Our future plans include Adopt-a-Highway, a website and forum. We are also planning an ad on a local AM station during Sunday religious programming that highlights our charity activities and emphasizes our similarities.

My personal goals are to completely change the public perception of Atheism, to create a dialogue between Atheists and theists, and to educate the public about critical thinking, argument, rhetoric, logic and philosophy. I feel that these are the key areas that prevent people from understanding Atheism and its aims. Only when people are educated will they be able to effectively combat discrimination and stereotyping.

This is an exciting time. People are moving away from religion toward reason in greater and greater numbers. We need to provide them with a viable alternative — a community that demonstrates that it has morals and ethics and works for the public good. We need to send the message that religion is not your only solace — reason and science can be as well.

I would like to offer my services to help advance Atheism in Seattle. S.A. is a wonderful group, and has tremendous potential if guided responsibly. I will do everything in my power as Vice President of Seattle Atheists to assist the President, Board and members in their efforts to positively promote Atheism in Seattle.

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