Let's Have a Little Respect Here!

-I can't read the artist's name, but here is where I found it.

I'm sure you know the feeling. Religious people tell you what's "right." They tell you how you should be living your life. They condemn you for not believing what they say. They spout whimsical nonsense from a book of fiction, demanding that you convert to their hierarchy of cardinals, bishops, and ministers, each one just as blind as the last. They tell millions each day what to think and say and do. They take money from the sheep of the world, thriving on others' stupidity. And when you tell them to screw off, to quit with their mind-numbing trash, society turns on you. Suddenly, you're the evil one. The intolerant one. The hypocrite. "How dare he!" They say. "Attacking someone's religion? That's unacceptable!"

Why is this? Because religion has an "untouchable" status. It's fine to discuss, just as long as you don't say anything to offend the religious. Just as long as you pander to them, everything is fine. And if say that you're an atheist? A non-believer? Boy, you had better do so in the most apologetic, ass-kissing fashion, lest you be branded as "intolerant."

For thousands of years, the religious have told us that we are wrong, that we are evil, that we are going to burn. Entire governments have been founded upon keeping a religion enforced. Countless atrocities have been committed in God's name. And now, when we finally have proof that religion is nonsense, when we finally have the ability to dissent without being put into an iron maiden or burned alive at the stake, the religious have still managed to put the fear of non-believing into us.

What we need to do is be open about our non-faith. Be proud in your un-beliefs. Tell the religious people that if they want to shout their garbage at us, they can do it from inside a church, where they belong. Do not be apologetic. Do not be meek. Show the world that atheists have no more fear of rejection. No more fear of being mocked, hated, or screamed at. WE ARE NON-BELIEVERS AND WE ARE PROUD.