Apologies for the lack of new content as of late. For the past couple of months I’ve put most of my website and blogging energies into the sites for Louisville Atheists and Freethinkers and the Kentucky Secular Society.
In the meantime, until I get a new blog post cooked up, here is a touching video from the Thinking Atheist about the idea of an afterlife and about what gives meaning and purpose to life. Enjoy 
It is time for the Kentucky State Fair, and for the third year in a row, the Kentucky Secular Society and the Louisville Atheists and Freethinkers will be representing. Tonight, I will be volunteering in the KySS booth from from 6-10pm. I am a bit of a veteran at this by now, having volunteered at the booth for the past two years, and I am taking a bit of time to reflect on past experiences I have had with the people who have come to visit our booth.
Tell most people that you are presenting a public face of atheism to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and they will look at you like you are just a bit crazy. But after driving around Louisville with a Darwin Fish or a similar symbol on my car for over ten years now, I’ve found it’s not quite as scary as people seem to think. But then, I suppose it depends on who you come in contact with on a daily basis. If you have a highly religious boss, family, or if many in your close circle of friends are highly religious then open expressions of disbelief will be rather more intimidating. And that is the main reason we have an atheist booth at the State Fair. To reach out to the lonely atheists and doubters out there who are surrounded by religiosity and think there is no one else in Kentucky that thinks like they do.
Lots of these people come by our booth and give us the thumbs up and thank us and comment that they thought they were the only atheists in Kentucky. These are the fun and easy interactions, and the thing that keeps up coming back year after year. We do also get folks who come to argue with us, to tell us all about their expertise in biblical prophecy, or to inform us that “every knee will bow,” or to condescendingly declare that they will pray for us poor sinners. And we seem to get a lot who just shout out some Christian slogan and then walk right on by. It will be my goal this year to remember that these are just fine people who are trying to go on with their lives, and we have just declared something so shocking to them that it threatens to upset the whole applecart of their thinking. “We are atheist, and proud of it.” My goal this year will be to remember to have some compassion for these people and not to get angry at them.
My other goal is to interact with a lot of people and have some fun!
More updates and information about the KySS State Fair Booth at http://www.KySecularSociety.org.
For the second year in a row, there is a atheist-themed booth at the Kentucky State Fair. Last year, there was a billboard sponsored by the Coalition of Reason posted right outside the fairgrounds though the entire month of August that declared “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.” The billboard is what prompted the idea for us to have a matching state fair booth at the fair, along with a banner to match the billboard (now being displayed in our current booth at the front of the display table.
Last year we got some media attention, mainly around the billboard but also with the fair booth as a followup story. But don’t think we are saddened by the lack of media attention this year–when people are no longer shocked at the “atheist booth” and get used to the fact that we are here, that is a sign of progress.
My first shift at the booth was on Friday evening, from 6-10. The way the shifts are scheduled, there are 2-3 people there for each shift. Just as last year, we have had no trouble at all finding members who are willing to step up and volunteer, and the shift schedule was filled out just about a week in advance of the fair’s opening date. Having multiple volunteers there makes it a lot more fun than if there were only one person, and it is invaluable for moral support and input in case any debates arise, and they always do. There is one main purpose to the booth, to reach out to our fellow secular citizens and let them know we are here. However we also make the most of the discussions with those who disagree with us. With Kentucky being a majority Christian state, we always have people coming by our booth who are not so pleased at our message. The responses have ranged from a puckered facial expression after they read our banner to declarations that “one day every knee will bow!” And of course, we do get asked from time to time if we are worried about hell, to which I would say “there is no hell.” We also have had long and frank and civil discussions about everything from where morals and values come from to the reliability (or lack thereof) of the Bible to whether or not America is a Christian nation. And the way I see it, regardless of the outcomes of these discussions it is a very positive thing for the religious to be in discussions with atheists in person, rather than only hearing what the preachers and the media have to say about us. We are putting a live, breathing, speaking human face on atheism in Kentucky.
And the discussions are great, but the best reward that we see daily are the surprised “thumbs-ups” and the grateful expressions of someone coming by and saying “I thought I was the only atheist in Kentucky.” This is the prize that makes all of the effort and debating worth it.
If you are interested in meeting with atheists and freethinkers in Louisville or in other areas of Kentucky, take a look at The Kentucky Secular Society and Louisville Atheists and Freethinkers.
