[Vision2020] Whack-a-Dos On & Off the Council At It Again

[Ted Moffett]

First Amendment, of course.  As though this needs to be emphasized and
debated?  Scary!

The responses against this humanist billboard might in part be explained by
the fact that sometimes "the truth hurts," as it's said.  And given the
anti-scientific intellectual brainwashing (on evolution, age of the Earth,
sexuality issues, anthropogenic global warming, et. al.) that many
religions inflict upon children, which I consider a form of child abuse,
perhaps there is a need to counterbalance this form of "education," which
might in part be the intention of those paying for the billboard.

But to take the other side, if someone put up a billboard aimed at 4 year
olds enlightening them to the truth that Santa Claus is a fantasy, some
might consider this to be a cruel robbing of children of innocent childhood
fantasy.

To some children, religious concepts or fantasies are a source of comfort.

I recall feeling comforted by my "guardian angel" when I was a child,
though there is no such entity, that I know of... On the other hand,
questions about the safety of an environment where a child would need a
"guardian angel" are a clue regarding what motivates human beings to
indulge in religious fantasies about a world they do not understand and
find threatening.

I think it likely that some religious concepts have their origins in
attempts in less scientific less modern times to comprehend and control a
world humans did not understand and thus sought "supernatural" explanations.
------------------------------------------
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett

On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 12:08 PM, Saundra Lund <v2020 at ssl1.fastmail.fm>wrote:

To me, the most hilarious part of the article was "Throw the Evidence Away"
> Carscallen thinking he's in any position to call anyone or anything else
> "classless."  Oh, pot -- kettle is looking for you  :-)
>
> From Tuesday's Daily News:
>
>
> Councilors reaffirm 1st Amendment rights of Humanists
>
>  By Brandon Macz, Daily News staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, December 4,
> 2012 12:00 am
>
> A Moscow resident took city councilors to task a second time in a
> separation
> of church and state and marketing issue regarding an American Humanist
> Association billboard he says has caused his young daughter harm.
>
> Judd Wilson first approached the council during its last meeting to
> complain
> about the sign at the southern end of town that states, "I'm getting a bit
> too old for imaginary friends," and depicts a young girl on it. This time
> he
> said he took offense to receiving no response from the city save for its
> attorney Randy Fife, whom he referred to as "The Lawyer."
>
> Wilson said councilors lacked sympathy for the impassioned speech he gave
> about a medical emergency regarding his daughter and how his Christian God
> saved her life nor had they done anything to discourage billboards
> attacking
> religious faith from being erected in the city. He added Mayor Nancy Chaney
> had supported proclamations positive toward homosexuality, but never for
> Christianity.
>
> "It seems you have no interest in doing anything for my daughter," Wilson
> said.
>
> Council President Dan Carscallen repeated Fife's public response to
> Wilson's
> initial comment last month by stating the council has no power to regulate
> the content of billboards.
>
> "Honestly, in my opinion, I think the sign is classless," he said. "To me,
> I
> choose to ignore it."
>
> Wilson said the council should set a community standard to discourage
> groups
> like the AHA from placing billboards in Moscow.
>
> Councilor Wayne Krauss said he was offended Wilson didn't think the council
> cared.
>
> "First of all, I really don't know what you expect us to do," he said. "You
> know what the First Amendment is. You know what it stands for. ... We know
> what we can do and we know what we can't do."
>
> Councilor Walter Steed said he outright didn't like billboards of any
> substance, and particularly didn't care for the Humanist one, but there was
> nothing that could be done.
>
> Greg Evans of Princeton said he didn't have a problem with most Humanist
> signs.
>
> "I've found them amusing. I've found them enjoyable in a way," he said.
>
> But Evans said he did not like the sign in Moscow because of its direction
> at children, adding it included a link to a website with sexually explicit
> content for teenagers. This would be the AHA teen webpage, which includes a
> link regarding sexual education for humanists.
>
> "There seems to be a real interest in arguing spirituality and religion in
> this country," Councilor Tom Lamar said. "I get really tired of arguing
> religion."
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
>
> Brandon Macz can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 238, or by email to
> bmacz at dnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrandonMacz.
>
>
>
>
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