Eideard

Christian respect for freedom of speech
Daylife/AP Photo used by permission

Atheists in Oklahoma City have erected a billboard seeking fellow non-believers, and Satanists have scheduled a conference in a city-owned building, drawing criticism from ministers in a state where more than eight out of 10 people say they are Christians…

Nick Singer, the coordinator of a local atheists’ group called “Coalition of Reason,” recently received $5,250 from its national counterpart to erect the billboard along Interstate 44 near the Oklahoma State Fair, which opens Wednesday. Its message reads, “Don’t believe in God? Join the club…”

Legislators pray in their chambers, led by a “minister of the day,” usually Christian. The Oklahoma City Thunder is one of the few NBA teams to begin each contest after a non-denominational prayer delivered by a minister on the public address system…

Yes. I think we all can agree that Oklahoma is a bastion of bible belt True Believers. Superstition overrules just about everything but the sunrise.

The Satanists, calling themselves the Church of the IV Majesties, have reserved a room at the Oklahoma City Civic Center for a “blasphemy ritual,” said James Hale, a founding member.

“I guess you could say we’re poking a dog with a stick. That’s the point of Satanism — to question all things,” Hale said.

Singer, from the atheists’ group, said his group has no connection to the Satanists.

“As far as Satan goes, we don’t believe in him either,” he said.

If you ask who might present a danger to the public order, whose hatred and fear might surpass any understanding of constitutional freedoms, the answer is clear.

“It’s not the people who don’t believe in God that worry me,” said Robin Meyers, senior minister at Mayflower Congregational Church…”It’s some of the people who do.

“Fundamentalism is the enemy worldwide, no matter what the strain.”

Oklahoma already bears national witness to the death and destruction that reactionary True Believers can bring to the innocent. The question of dissent – even on the side of reason and science – means little to those who think they are the sword-carriers for a wrathful god.

Surely feels nice to say what’s on my mind!

In a rare public appearance Saturday, retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter decried a “dangerous state of civic knowledge” in America, warning that a lack of proper civics education poses a threat to judicial independence.

“We know from survey results that two-thirds of people in the United States cannot even name all three branches of the national government,” Souter said at the opening assembly of the American Bar Association’s annual meeting. “This is something to worry about.”

A soft-spoken orator, Souter’s passion for this subject pierced his austere delivery as he recounted a youth spent learning about government by sitting in on meetings in the rectangular Town Hall of Weare, N.H. Wistfully, he noted: “If anyone had put the question to one of my 9th-grade classmates or to me — what are the three branches of government? — none of us would have failed to answer.”

Appointed as a Supreme Court justice in 1990 by President George Bush, Souter was expected to fall in line with the court’s conservative wing. But he repeatedly voted along with the liberal justices, frustrating Republicans time and again…

After nearly two decades on the court, Souter stepped down in June. Judge Sonia Sotomayor was nominated to replace him by President Barack Obama, and she awaits a confirmation vote by the U.S. Senate.

After retiring, Souter began working with the New Hampshire Supreme Court Society task force to bolster civics education in the state’s public schools. Souter’s primary contention in his speech was that a populace uneducated about government can’t possibly respect the importance of an independent judiciary.

Which is exactly the way corporate America and their flunkies in Congress would have it remain. The scariest thing on Earth to demagogues and dealers – is an educated citizen.