Atheist takes turn giving council blessing

[progressoid]

I'm surprised this is happening in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I go there often for business. And while SF is becoming more diverse, it is still a pretty RW "God fearing" area. Wonder if there will be any fall out.

Of course the newspaper called it a "blessing"

Atheist takes turn giving council blessing

Amanda Novotny will step forward this week to offer a few words of meditation before the City Council, as many others have done before.

Only she comes as an atheist, a rare sight for Sioux Falls city government.

Her moment is 7 p.m. Tuesday at Carnegie Town Hall. Her two-minute time slot, called the invocation on the meeting agenda, often is when a church pastor steps to the microphone and asks God to bless the meeting.

Novotny will call out a blessing as well. Her thoughts, however, will be in the form of a humanistic contemplation exhorting the council and mayor to work in their own power to address the issues of the day. She hadn't framed what she would say before an interview last week. But one word her comments will not include is God.

The goal is "humans making the world better, not relying on a supreme power to do so," she said.

Novotny is president of the Siouxland Freethinkers. Her occasion to speak to the council arises after a Supreme Court ruling in May upheld invocations of of a town board in Greece, N.Y. The court rejected a complaint that primarily Christian prayers before that board amounted to government establishing a religion in violation of the First Amendment. The court's 5-4 ruling was a victory for defenders of public prayer. But in the ruling, Justice Anthony Kennedy said opportunities to lead invocations must extend to "a minister or layperson of any persuasion, including an atheist."

...more... http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2014/08/02/supreme-court-affirmation-of-public-prayer-gives-all-an-opportunity-to-share/13537023/

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Her message is here:

http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/city/2014/08/06/atheist-group-delivers-opening-message-city-council/13692251/

[Warren Stupidity]

2. I like that she read from a book of make believe.

She has a sense of humor, and it was a good quote.

[progressoid]

4. I just drove through Sioux Falls yesterday. I saw TWO Darwin fish bumper stickers.

Granted, they were both on the same car, but this is a good sign. Looks like people are becoming more comfortable with expressing their non belief.

[progressoid]

3. Cool.

Looks like these people aren't afraid to be heard. There's hope yet.

[arnovotny]

5. Hey! That's me!

I stumbled across this thread while Googling myself... thanks for the kind comments! So far there hasn't been any real fall out or backlash from the invocation - other things we've done have resulted in hate mail, prayers for my soul, and the like.

[Rhiannon12866]

6. Glad you found us, arnovotny!

And welcome to DU!

[progressoid]

7. Nice to "meet" you!

I grew up near there in NW Iowa. It's great to see the city growing culturally. I remember "back in the day" when we wanted to see Monty Python's 'Life of Brian', but couldn't because the religious leaders convinced the theater owner to pull the movie. Times are a changin'.

Keep up the good work!

[onager]

10. NW Iowa - near Fort Dodge, by any chance?

I spent a couple of weeks there once for work. Pork Heaven! Inch-thick pork steaks! I grew up in the South, where we eat every part of the pig except for the squeal. But the Iowans taught me some new things about pork.

Getting there I had some Stephen King moments. My own fault for not realizing how long a drive it was from Des Moines. In the night. In the dark... To quote Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting."

It's the American Ukraine. Just miles and miles of flat fields. Nothing to break it up but an occasional silo, rising up like the altar of some ancient (and unfriendly) religion in the cold moonlight. A few small towns with one lonely traffic light swaying in the wind. Little towns where I kept expecting the Children of the Corn to run out in front of my car...

By the time I got to Ft. Dodge, around 3 AM, I was the happiest I had ever been to see a TraveLodge. Gideon Bible or not.

[progressoid]

11. Sort of.

Actually, a little further northwest where it's even more right wing - in a town of about 1200 people. There happens to be a pocket of crazy in that corner of the state (Steve King). Calvinist / Dutch Reformed kind of crazy. Mostly nice people. Just don't talk politics or religion. Central and eastern IA are more liberal.

But you saw pretty much the same landscape. Small towns surrounded by corn, soybeans, pigs, cows and Jesus. At one time I think Iowa had the most small towns of any state.

If you really want scary, try driving at night in western Nebraska. You can drive for miles and not see another house. Just fields. Of course, the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations in South Dakota are pretty bleak too.

[deucemagnet]

8. Cool!

Welcome to the DU A&A group! I hope you stick around!

[onager]

9. Welcome!

Always good to see someone drop by who's doing important things in the real world.

Any truth to the rumor that South Dakota is offering its atheists a safe, private place to meet?



(Minuteman missile silo, South Dakota)