1.01.2024

Atheists, Vote Like Your Life Depends on It

Bald eagle

In the United States, we like to talk about our rights. We rarely have much to say about the many responsibilities that go along with these rights. But we sure do love to discuss our rights! And so help anybody who threatens to restrict them.

One of these rights is the right to vote. Our low voter turnout suggests that too few of our neighbors exercise this right. They'll offer many reasons for this, and some seem more valid than others.

Atheists and other non-Christians should have among the highest voter turnout of all. Why? Because of how much we stand to lose when Christian extremists gain power. We should vote like our lives depend on it because they do.

Christian extremists like Nick Fuentes are broadcasting the plan. They want the death penalty for non-Christians. This isn't a secret. We ignore the threat at our own peril. We should keep it in mind when we aren't excited about any of our local, state, and federal candidates. If we need a reason to go to the polls, this could be it.

We're busy, tired, and overworked. It isn't easy to get to the polls. We have other things to do. And when we vote, it rarely seems to make a difference. Why bother? 

Bother because you value your life or the lives of other non-Christians. Bother because you don't like what the Christian extremists have in store for us. Bother because you don't want to live in their world.

Whenever my motivation to vote wanes, I plan to think of Fuentes. The same will be true for any type of secular activism. This isn't about upholding abstract principles or doing the right thing. It is about our survival. If we want to have a future, we need to expand our efforts to oppose Christian extremism.

For more on the subject of Christian extremism from the perspective of a Christian, check out Tim Alberta's new book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

This post contains Amazon.com affiliate links, and I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links. This is one of the ways readers can support Atheist Revolution.

Image by Petra from Pixabay



Comments (9)

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Ridiculous! USA was founded on bible
Scriptures all over DC....TEN COMMANDMENTS in every courthouse and Congress issued bibles to every school kid
How could prayer be kicked out of school if it was not in school
We are a Christian nation....80 percent of citizens identify as Christian.....Christianity brought equality of sexes and races...Christians ended slavery.....many righting British were pastors. All heads of colleges including Harvard were ministers......Christianity made USA great you are reaping benefits......move yourself to places where Christianity is illegal and see how you like it.....Saudi Arabia....China...n Korea....FAIR TRIALS our entire justice system and representative government comes from bible
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1 reply · active 77 weeks ago
The USA is founded on the Constitution, which does not mention the Bible or Christianity, and prohibits an official religion (First Amendment) or religious tests for political office (Article 6, paragraph 3).

The proportion of Americans who self-identify as Christian is now below 70% and decreasing rapidly.

The Bible treats women as inferior and subject to the authority of men, and so did Christian societies until the rise of secular modernity weakened the influence of Christianity.

The Bible accepts slavery and provides guidelines for how to treat slaves. Jesus lived in a society where slavery was common and he never condemned it. Pagan Japan abolished slavery in the sixteenth century, long before any Christian country did. Slavery in the Christian US and Latin America was justified using the Bible. It was not abolished there until the rise of secular modernity.

I have never heard any atheist say that Christianity should be illegal. We just don't want it to be a dominant influence or have official status.

Trial by jury existed in pagan ancient Macedonia when the Bible was unknown in the West. The Bible is full of rule by kings and priests and does not mention representative government. Democracy originated with the pagan ancient Greeks and representative government originated with the pagan ancient Romans.

The Bible is a jumble of ancient barbaric nonsense which has nothing to do with the modern Western world and its institutions.
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I don't know to what extent absentee voting is an option in the U.S. these days. But as American expats, that's how my wife and I cast our ballots. Also the state of California in which we are registered voters is very accommodating in this regard.
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1 reply · active 79 weeks ago
In some states, mail-in voting is the norm. In others (like where I live), it has been made almost impossible. I find it interesting how some states seem to want to make it as difficult as possible to vote.
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It might interest you to know that you've been quoted at Gateway Pundit, one of the most flaming-nutball far-right-wing "news" sites out there. Be prepared for a flood of loonies.
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1 reply · active 79 weeks ago
Yeah, I saw some interesting links from far-right sources coming in. I suppose they must monitor sites from their perceived enemies as a way of keeping their base inflamed.
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I don't live in a battleground state, but my U.S. House district has become a "swing" district after a Republican won it in 2022 for the first time in 28 years. Furthermore, President Biden won this district in 2020 by the largest margin of any of the 18 GOP-won seats in 2022 which Biden won. It's infuriating to have a Republican voting the wrong way on nearly every issue, and I have written my representative 9 times already to let him know, and to try to get him to be more like moderate Republicans in the past (like Chris Shays and Connie Morella) who were not afraid to buck their party.

It is crucial to flip the House in November, not only to neutralize Speaker Johnson (an election denier) the awful Freedom Caucus but to make sure the Dems are in charge next January to properly certify the presidential election.
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1 reply · active 78 weeks ago
Absolutely! Congress will be important too. The election denial nonsense has got to go.
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I can't blame people for not voting. Voting doesn't really fix anything when the two major parties are both right-wing and capitalist, and generally only support policies that benefit the wealthy and the big corporations. As a communist in this country, it's clear to me that both Democrats and Republicans won't support any meaningful change that benefits the working class. While I'll likely vote for an actual left-wing independent or third party candidate like Claudia de la Cruz of the Party for Socialism and Liberation in November, I'm convinced that revolution is necessary to really change the system to work for the working class instead of the rich.
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