Readers react to complaints from atheists

[unhappycamper]

Readers react to complaints from atheists
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, November 15, 2008

WASHINGTON — The Secular Coalition for America’s plea on Monday for more acceptance of atheists and agnostics in the military elicited both support and disdain from Stars and Stripes readers this week.

The group, which represents a host of humanist, nonreligious members, has asked President-elect Barack Obama to develop new military directives that eliminate prayers from public military events and ensure the Defense Department will not endorse any single religion, or even the idea of religion over non-religion.

Below is a sampling of reactions to those efforts:

The real issue is not discrimination against atheists and agnostics, it is the hostility of atheists toward anyone with religious convictions.

In 38 years of living on AF bases growing up, serving 20 years on active duty, and now civil service, I will state categorically that I have never seen or heard of any form of discrimination toward, or unwanted proselytizing of, an atheist.

Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58820

[kikiek]

1. One of the respondents said he'd rather have God in a foxhole with him than an atheist.

I wonder if God would be armed and shooting too.

[tbyg52]

2. >>I have never seen or heard of any form of discrimination toward, or unwanted proselytizing of

To the perpetrator of the above quote:

That's because you've never been or even hung around with an "out" non-religious person, you jerk. I could tell you plenty of stories, but you wouldn't want to hear them anyway.