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Comment by Craigart14 on February 18, 2011 at 5:27pm

And when I talk to Harley riders, I get jumped for passing them on my 20-year-old Honda ;-)

 

Seriously, people in general should care more about people.  Humanism, i.e., enlightened secular humanism, is about the only "ism" I can get behind.  Oh, there is that one that starts with A . . .

 

I am still hoping that the US will become a participatory democracy again, but there are a lot of people secretly working against that.  I am just finishing up Jeff Sharlet's book, The Family, which details the work of a number of American evangelical groups.  According to Sharlet, the Family, led Abraham Vereide (I know; never heard of him, right?) and currently by Doug Coe has been selling "Jesus plus nothing" to wealthy elites for sixty or seventy years.  They have no real doctrine or theology, requiring only that their members submit fully to God and agree to work for spreading Jesus around the globe, even through genocide.  The Jesus they adore is not the Jesus of the New Testament, but a Jesus born of very sick minds.  They are organized in cells, like a terrorist organization, and have apparently influenced or brought about US involvement in a variety of conflicts.  Just as an example, they put Diem, the first president of Vietnam, in touch with the Eisenhower White House.  As a result, the Catholic Diem ends up ruling a predominantly Buddhist country by means of American money and arms.  Some prominent members have been President Ford, who prayed with members of his prayer cell before pardoning Nixon.  We have supported some nasty dictators since WWII, including Suharto of Indonesia, who may have killed 1.5 million "suspected Communists," and who invaded East Timor on the absurd pretext that a tiny nation of 650,000 was planning a takeover of Indonesia, with 140 million citizens.  We have torn down democratic regimes and replaced them with dictators for decades, and Sharlet argues that the Family has been behind much of our disastrous foreign policy.  It that's true, then these people are disloyal to our country, placing their religion ahead of America.  They are taking power by "submitting" to a Jesus who asks nothing but submission--not charity or democracy or even honesty.

 

It's a startling book by a former Family insider.  It might explain a lot about why Washington is broken.

 

Enough of that.  Read the book and see what you think.  I am going to get my Hurricane on the road this weekend and begin riding to work again.

Comment by Lina Baker on February 17, 2011 at 1:23pm

I strongly support flag burning yet, I eagerly display our flag on notable holidays, and display it with the greatest of respect.

 

I love this quote!

 

Smiley Courtney, don't be discouraged. There is diversity of thoughts in a lot of groups. An example: I know that I am far, far to the left of the adults that also volunteer in Girl Scouts here in my area, but our motivation to create leadership opportunities for girls tends to keep us all pretty well focused.

 

I know some atheists that want to eliminate all religion and some that are just fine with religion as long as it tolerates others. Atheists can be all over the place as well as far as political beliefs - just like Christians, Muslims, et. al.

 

I have Christian friends that don't try to convert me and Republican friends who don't think I'm evil and Patriot friends who don't resent me for not flying a USA flag on holidays. Unfortunately, they aren't ever booked on TV or radio shows.

 

But I know what you mean by the polarization. If you say, "I like broccoli. And it's good for you.", people who are on the other side of whatever you are will start screaming, "Oh, so you want EVERYONE to be FORCED to eat BROCCOLI and NOTHING else!!!" 

 

As for why I was motivated to join an atheist motorcycle online group - I'm not really sure. Maybe because I get weirded out by the Bikers for Christ. I always wonder what they would do if I had a jacket that said Bikers for Islam. My husband and I don't go to some biker-related events because we know we're going to be expected to pray. Thankfully, the rallies we do go to -- for adventure motorcyclists (people who travel to other countries on motorcycles) -- don't have opening prayers, etc. I have no idea what everyone else's religion or lack there of is, and I kinda like it that way.

Comment by J Schwartz on January 14, 2011 at 9:45am

Smiley, Hello and welcome to the group! 

Well, my politics are socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

I strongly support flag burning yet, I eagerly display our flag on notable holidays, and display it with the greatest of respect. 

Yeah, I know not ALL in our Atheist tribe agree with my views, but I know some do.. 

 

 

Comment by Smiley Courtney on January 13, 2011 at 10:54am

I try to talk to atheists and I get jumped for not being a screaming liberal.

I try to talk to patriots and I get jumped for not being a screaming born-again Christian.

I try to talk to bikers and I get jumped for not being a screaming conservative.

 

With all the screaming going on, I can't help but wonder . . . what kind of a participatory democracy can we have when the world is embracing retribalization? And not only on the cultural, geopolitical, and religious fronts, but even down to the individual?  As great as the internet is at giving everybody a voice, it seems we predominately only want to hear people who agree with our own previously held opinions.

 

How can we see new horizons if we only look in the mirror?

 

So, as someone who values freedom of the road and freedom of thought, and who believes Earth's best chance of having a locale where those ideals might be achieved it the U S of A, I ask . . .  AM I THE ONLY ONE???

Comment by Smiley Courtney on January 5, 2011 at 10:32am

Hello from Indy, and welcome to 2011.

Comment by Lina Baker on December 19, 2010 at 6:23pm

After two months of no rides, I snuck in two this week! It's near freezing outside, but as long as the sun is out and it's dry, we'll give it a try! Passed a few riders braving it outside here in Oregon as well.

Comment by J Schwartz on December 19, 2010 at 5:01pm

Welcome! Too cold to ride here lately. A fall foliage tour was my last real ride of 2010 here in north Ga.

Comment by Lina Baker on November 24, 2010 at 9:58am

Hey there! I'm new to Atheistnexus. I'm also a motorcycle rider. Both my husband and I ride Hondas (he has an Africa Twin, I have an old Nighthawk). We travel by motorcycle, including internationally, and the rallies we go to for other international riders never include prayers or bike blessings (and aren't Harley-focused), unlike other motorcycle rallies in the USA -- so we're guessing most other international riders are nontheists? Just an observation -- no scientific data to back this up...

Comment by Ken on June 23, 2010 at 8:22pm

Count me in as a Dyna Wide Glide riding Atheist in Austin, Texas. I, of course, love to ride.

Comment by J Schwartz on June 23, 2010 at 7:48pm

Thanks for that point Grundgetta.. This group is inclusive to ALL motorcycle riders, not just Harley Riders as mentioned on Atheist Bikers..

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