Dan Arel - The Secular Activist: A How-to Manual for Protecting the Wall between Church and State

Pitchstone Publishing

Durham, NC 27705

www.pitchstonepublishing.com

Copyright 2016 by Dan Arel

All rights reserved.

To contact the author,

please e-mail

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Arel, Dan.

Title: The secular activist : a how-to manual for protecting the wall between church and state / Dan Arel ; foreword by David Silverman.

Description: Durham, North Carolina : Pitchstone Publishing, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016025487| ISBN 9781634310949 (paperback) | ISBN 9781634310963 (epdf) | ISBN 9781634310970 (mobi)

Subjects: LCSH: Church and stateUnited States. | Freedom of religionUnited States. | SecularismUnited States. | BISAC: RELIGION / Atheism. | POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Political Advocacy.

Classification: LCC BR516.A84 2016 | DDC 322/.10973dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016025487

For Rob Boston & David Fitzgerald

Without these two gentlemen,
this book may have never come to life.

I remember my first time.

The year was 1996 and I was pissed off. Religion was everywheremy life, politics, workand I was tired of it, and I mean in a big way. I knew nothing about the atheist movement, and I hadnt connected to it at all, yet. I felt alone in my atheism, but I was sure I was wrong.

So I bought a plain yellow shirt from Kmart and created an iron-on atheist decal from my HP PaintJet printer. It read, in very large letters, NJ AtheistsThe Few, The Proud, The Free. I was very proud of this, my first-ever atheist billboard shirt.

I remember the day I wore the shirt out for the first time. I went to an outdoor mall near my home and sported my art proudly, listening to every snide remark behind my back. There were lots of them. Several people came up to me with comments like, Hi there, hellbound, and all the nasty looks and gestures (lots of gestures) you would expect. I always responded with civility and a smile, but after a while I longed for a positive response.

Then it happened. On the way back to the car, a little old lady wearing a blue jacket came up to me and whispered, Im free, too, Im just afraid to say it, but Im with you! Then she put her finger to her lips as if to say, Shhh, smiled, and walked away.

I was invigorated. I found someone! I made an atheist feel better! I made antiatheists confront their demon and I improved the life, to some degree at least, of someone who was completely closeted and clearly felt alone. I had done good, on my first day. Me and my shirt.

I wish I still had that shirt.

Dans book is about being an activist, and I dont think there are many more important subjects to discuss. Activism improves society, defeats bigotry, and, in a very real sense, improves the lives of all Americans (or at least those who dont make money off the scam of religion).

But there is more to activism than all of that. Activism feels good.

As you read Dans book you will learn some of the most important needs of and methods for activism. You will learn how to be an activist and why it helps. And if you read my book, Fighting God, you will learn why activism is not only effective, but also morally right, which leads me to one of my favorite aspects of activismhow it feels.

Imagine going to bed knowing youve done good that day. Not that you worked hard, made a friend, or treated yourself well, but actually did good for your country and your fellow human, on a larger scale than your own life. Think about how that feels.

Activism gives me that feeling. I feel it every night when I lie down after having done something hard or accomplishing some goal. It feels great. In my view, all atheist activists fight to defeat bigotry and loneliness, and to make life better for atheists everywhere. And, since we fight only for equality for everyone, we also make life better for members of minority religions as wellwe fight for the Jew, the Muslim, the Pagan, etc., because we fight against our common enemy and in favor of everyones equal rights.

In fact, any way you slice it, atheist activism is being the good guy (in the gender-nonspecific manner). We fight against ignorance and inequality, against lies and liars. We wear the white hats.

It feels great. This fight changes your outlook on life. This is not like your job where you do what you do to make money (for you or others); this is about doing good for the sake of doing good.

But more than that, it feels great that it feels great. Activism puts you in touch with your generous and compassionate side. It takes you out of your work-for-a-living headspace and actually shows you, perhaps for the first time, that there is serious enjoyment to come from doing good. I came out of college and graduate school ready to climb the corporate ladder, but the happiness at attaining middle management is nothing compared to the happiness that I get when I improve the lives of strangers, even to the smallest degree.

Sure, I heard my share of grief, but almost all of that has disappeared over the years. I wear atheist billboard shirts now whenever I fly, in every airport, but nobody gives me any negative reactions now. They are all positive. The TSA agent, the flight attendant, the people in lineatheists are coming out of the woodwork now. I no longer need to wait for my little old lady with the blue jacket. People come to me often to ask about atheism. I can taste the progress.

And I can feel the happiness. So many people call me angry, and sometimes that descriptor is quite correct, but at night I am happy. Im doing good. Im seeing progress. Im part of the solution.

I hope this book motivates you to be a part of the solution, too. You will learn when and where to do what, and how, but please keep in the back of your mind all the wonderful aspects of the why. Not just the Im doing good for humanity why, but also the this is going to feel great to me why. Activism helps your outlook. Activism improves your mind-set. Indeed, in a very real way, activism improves your life because youre improving other peoples lives, which makes you happy, which makes you understand and appreciate your inner Humanist.

I never saw my blue-jacketed friend again. Maybe her life was changed by our chance meeting. Maybe she told her friends and family and they had a nice discussion about it. Maybe her friends came out to her in the process and their relationship opened up a whole new support mechanism for everyone involved. Or maybe I just made an old lady smile for a minute. It doesnt matter. It all makes me feel great.

So yes, be an activist. You will help society. You will defeat ignorance and bigotry. You will make the world a better place for good people of all persuasions. But dont forget or minimize how much this will all do for you, and how happy you will feel at night, in bed, when you know youre doing good.

Sleep well.

David Silverman