Tonight: A Rollicking Discussion about Liberty and Atheism

Leave your sidearms home for this one...I'll share a few lighthearted remarks to get the party rolling!!

How's this for profundity? There's liberty over here. And there's atheism over here.

For some of us the two are miles apart. For others of us the two are inextricable. Some of us would argue that liberty is a subjective man-made construct. Some argue no one's a 'true' atheist. Then there are those of us who say "Who gives a rat's ass what gets us to the libertarian realization as long as we get there?" As usual, this is all "box" thinking at a time when box rental can be damned expensive...

But who can deny...

Some great atheists have been great libertarians (e.g. Ayn Rand)

Some atheists have been earth's biggest genocidal mass murderers (e.g. Stalin, Mao).

Some theists are our most revered heroes (e.g.Founding Fathers)

Other presumed theist believers use their religion to justify 21st century barbarism. (And it ain't new).

I'd like to submit for discussion that those of us who value human life and liberty for any reason should welcome new libertarians, regardless of their road travelled. In this case, it would be practical to be, using an unfortunately missaplied 'PC' term, tolerant.

I'm not here to impose priorities. If, for you, God comes before any consideration regarding how we treat each other politically, then we may have different priorities. Many of us feel freedom is a gift from God, and is therefore our 'natural right.' Personally I like that much better.

I also like the 'atheistic' argument that there is NO source of rights (God, State, any group of thugs self-identifying as 'The People') validating the imposition of one person's will over the other, regarding the latter's choices regarding life, liberty, family and property (will leave the discussion of 'what is property?' for another time---safe to say, I hope, what you have is yours and what I have is mine.)

We need all hands on deck these days...let's address our spiritual differences when we've safely recovered our rights to do so...

Comments now, please. If not now, when?

That's my two cents...take it, Tony!!