Whenever you throw religion into the news, and especially when it coincides with anything of a political nature, the commentary is apt to be argumentative. That’s exactly the situation on an article posted by the Charlotte Observer earlier today. Upon reading even just a blurb from the story — headlined “Atheists buy sign on Billy Graham Parkway” – you can easily see why:
An atheist billboard along Billy Graham Parkway?
Yep, there it is – “One Nation Indivisible,” with the “under God” left out – high atop the parkway, near Boyer Street.
But “no, no, no,” it wasn’t intended as a slap at the world’s most famous evangelist, said a spokesman for Charlotte Atheists & Agnostics.
According to the article, the N.C. Secular Association — a statewide organization for atheists and agnostics — has made this Charlotte location one of three displaying the billboard. A quick glance at the 975+ comments left by readers show that this signage has certainly ruffled a few feathers.
Photo by Diedra Laird with the Charlotte Observer.
On one hand you have the religious folks, verbally castrating the atheist-based agency and its members as well as anyone who even minutely sees no issue with the billboard’s placement (on a highway dedicated to religious leader Billy Graham) or its message.
On the other you have the under-represented faithless who attempt to defend the posting’s purpose of equality, and ultimately truly being indivisible, among those who believe in God and those who do not. But these folks somewhat come across as religious-bashers, berating anyone who holds a deep devotion to their beliefs.
The bickering about who is right and who is wrong continues for 100 pages, with the crticisms becoming increasingly rude, ignorant, disrespectful and downright malicious. While it’s only natural and normal to feel an urge to protect one’s beliefs, it seems another to ridicule someone else’s ideals in the process, yet that is exactly what this article has spawned.
If you’re a frequenter to this blog, you can likely assume where my opinion falls on this issue, but who am I to say the other side is incorrect in their judgments? When it comes to religion and politics, primarily when blended together, neither opponent will ever be deemed the true winner. Like the saying goes, “Opinions are like assholes. Everyone’s got one.” And in these two arenas, that’s for damn sure.
You meander through the hundreds of comments this one brief story has generated and it’s evident that nobody will prevail here. Both sides find themselves unequivocally right, despite the entire quarrel truly being a lose-lose situation. Rather than proving one claim over the other, each party looks inconsiderate and uncouth.
We’re consistently told that religion and politics are two of the three topics — the third being money — that should never be discussed among mixed company. But online, hidden behind the anonymity of a pseudonym, they debate these items anyway. At what point do the unspoken rules of society trickle onto the Internet and allow for healthy, intelligent conversation rather than offensive, insensitive slandering back and forth?
