The “atheist blogosphere”, you say? Hmmm, what exactly might that mean?
Atheists do not live their lives under the delusion that the world’s problems can be fixed by imposing their religious values on everyone; after all, we do not have religious values to impose. We have examined religion, often from the inside, and know its shortcomings; we understand that every religion, no matter its pretentions, is little more than an insular cult, more concerned with its temporal power than helping its would-be adherents.
So what do we, those who should be offering ours as the voice of reason in the world, do while the world crashes down around us?
Take a look around the atheist blogosphere, and what do you find? Childish bullshit, mostly. You get the very real impression that you are back in high school, trying to win a seat at the popular table with the football players and cheerleaders. There is little to no discussion of the important issues of the day. In fact, those atheist bloggers who do discuss such topics do not really belong to the atheist blogosphere; they typically fall under the liberal or leftist political wing.
This is bullshit. We should be talking about these things, instead of engaging in juvenile social networking and asinine online poll crashing. Ripping the occasional creationist wackaloon a new asshole can be fun, but creationists and anti-abortion crusaders are a real danger; they are the vanguard of the fascist movement that has provided the core of Republican politics for the last several decades. That fascist core has a new postergirl in Sarah Palin; what prominent atheists have risen to challenge her vapid but dangerous aspirations?
None? You’re fucking right, my droog.
Here’s a current example: the $700 billion Wall Street bailout/utter subversion of the very concept of democracy. Slacktivist gave it the dissection it needed; however, Slacktivist is not an atheist, but a rational evangelical. We atheists should be making connections with people like Slacktivist, but instead we have spent our time just giggling at his fantastic dissection of that horrible Left Behind book.
Vapid and meaningless, and I’m sick of it.
There are real voices in the atheist blogosphere. Well, there would be real voices, if they ever rose high enough to gain the attention of the big boys. You want to get noticed by PZ Myers? Don’t write something meaningful and insightful; just beg him to fucking notice you and you’ll get your own post! Pharyngula is probably the biggest atheist blog, and it has turned into a joke. I’m sick of sticking nails in crackers; let the Catholics fume, and get on with something that might make a real difference in the world.
I’ve read too many atheist blogs that are dying for lack of attention, while the most prominent atheist bloggers wonder fretfully why there is no atheist activism. Maybe that has something to do with this insular and sycophantic and childish behavior?
I am one of the former: a blogger who came very close to throwing up his hands and quitting because he did not want to obsess over trivia with the Heathers. I came back, though, because I cannot stay away; I merely broadened my targets.
TAGS: atheism, atheist blogosphere, politics, activism
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