No less than three of our personal friends have told us that religion is under sustained attack by atheists and liberals, presumably because the rational among us have been fighting back against the intrusion of religion into politics and many other aspects of life in the United States. As a case in point the following is a message sent us by People for the American Way
Head Start Reauthorization (H.R. 1429)
H.R. 1429 is a bipartisan bill that would reauthorize the Head Start program, keeping in place a 35-year-old civil rights provision that protects against religious discrimination within the program. Specifically, the provision prohibits employment discrimination based on religion in federally-funded positions in Head Start programs and protects not only the 213,000 Head Start teachers and staff, but the 1,360,000 parent volunteers involved with the program.
The civil rights/religious nondiscrimination provision has been in place since Head Start’s inception in 1972 and has remained in each reauthorization since then with bipartisan support. But now, it seems some on the Right in Congress want to gut this vital provision. When H.R. 1429 comes to the House floor this week, they intend to offer a “Motion to Recommit” which will include instructions to strip the civil rights protection, thus allowing government-funded religious discrimination in the Head Start program.
Head Start is an effective program that has helped millions of pre-school aged children from low-income and disadvantaged families. Stripping the nondiscrimination provision would only weaken it – we cannot let that happen.
The religious right have many failings, but one of them is not an inability to spin and misrepresent. The activiyies of Dawkins and other rationalist scientists and writers have had a lot of publicity. The right wing religionists, who have had 6 glorious years intruding their particular (Protestant) beliefs into the bedroom, the school, charity and every place they could get them, deeply resent anyone who resists them. They feel their political power waning along with Bush, and are now representing themselves as harmless little saints, who have done no harm to anyone and who are unaccountably being attacked and discriminated against by the wicked godless.
And our well-educated friends are falling for this propaganda! Give us a break!
The religious saints and right-wingers seem to live in a sea of “they’s” — e.g., “they” are attacking our religious beliefs,” or “they” are taking down Western Civilization. I’ve started asking my conservative friends to name liberals or atheists whom they know PERSONALLY who are busy demolishing all that is good and sacred on the planet. The question slows them down and, more often than not, ends that sort of discussion.