Democracy Now *and* FFRF!

Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll for July’s $50 donation from eclecticmisc.org to a progressive-friendly cause or organization.

For the second time, we have a tie! That means the Democracy Now! and Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) each received a $25 donation. (Literal receipts at the end of this post).

Most of you are probably somewhat familiar with both of these, so here’s a quick explanation of what they do and then a quick anecdote about me getting to see Dan Barker and Amy Goodman — and my mom meeting Amy Goodman! — in person.

1) Democracy Now! is an independent media news show — hosted by Amy Goodman, and often co-hosted by Juan Gonzalez or Nermeen Shaikh — that has been broadcasting since 1996 (so I guess they’re getting a $25 donation on their 25th anniversary!).

Amy Goodman has done so much over her long career, but possibly her most recent “big news” was when she covered the violence against water protectors at the Dakota Access Pipeline — which went viral online so even the mainstream media had to cover it — and was herself arrested for reporting on it.

My mom actually got to meet Amy Goodman! She volunteered at an environmental event in Chicago several years back that Amy Goodman was also volunteering for. She said that Amy was as nice in person as she seems on air. She didn’t come off as the award-winning journalist and host of a show that millions of people have seen, “just” another volunteer. My mom and I also got to see Amy Goodman in person at a panel Amy was in a couple years prior, which was really interesting to see, but I didn’t talk to her. Maybe some other time!

My favorite thing about Amy Goodman (who’s also an author) is actually the 30-minute impromptu interview with Bill Clinton who had no idea apparently the political beating that was in store for him when he called for what was likely supposed to be a couple minute a get-out-the-vote call.

2) The Freedom From Religion Foundation is, as its name suggests, an organization dedicated to the separation of state and church to protect the rights of those who are non-religious. Their stance, which the Supreme Court has generally agreed with since the 50s, is that the First Amendment’s right to religious liberty necessarily includes the idea that government cannot and should not promote religion, force religion onto its citizens, or make taxpayers subsidize religion or religious institutions.

With over 30k members now, most of them atheist, agnostic, or humanists, they often intervene on a national, state, or even local level to challenge public institutions who are illegally funding or promoting religion.

Examples include challenging public schools that require children to say prayers or say the Pledge of Allegiance (with the “under God” that was inserted during McCarthyism); opposing the National Day of Prayer and the yearly Prayer Breakfast; Jesus-based nativity scenes on government land, etc. They also have an annual Emperor Has No Clothes Award (which TYT’s Cenk Uygur won!) to recognize public figures who are non-religioius.

I became familiar with Freedom From Religion at an important juncture in my life, when I finally admitted to myself that I didn’t believe in a God and was surprised to find out that it was a lot more common than I thought (depending on how you ask the question, around 20% of people in the US — and growing! — are either non-religious, agnostic, and/or atheist).

I actually got to meet FFRF co-president Dan Barker in person after one of his talks! It was an event to draw attention to religious invocations at the start of city council meetings. He signed his book Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America’s Leading Atheists. If I remember correctly, I just said hello, told him my name so he could put it in a quick note above his autograph, and he said nice to meet you. Back in those days, I was an extremely nervous introvert, so I’m surprised I even remember that much!

Not long afterwards, I attended Reason Rally 2016, which headlined well-known atheists and secularists like Penn Jillette (Penn and Teller), James Randi (magician and skeptic), Adam Savage (MythBusters), and more, in addition to Annie Laurie Gaylor (FFRF co-founded with her mother) and Barker. Although not as well attended as the previous event apparently, it still was an enjoyable experience where I was with other people who believed that science and reason — not religion — should guide our lives, especially when it comes to government.

One person who voted for FFRF explained why: “The childhood indoctrination that religion holds over people & [that] can cause them to feel entitle[d] to encroach upon the freedom of others, in the name of their own self righteousness, needs to end.

Especially with the merging of the religious (far) right with the political (far) right, both Democracy Now and FFRF are important for keeping people informed about what our politicians are doing and where we go from here to save our democracy, and to help keep religion from intruding on our government and our lives.

I’m happy to donate $25 to DN! and FFRF. Thank you to everyone who voted!

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Which cause, organization, or show will you pick for August? Come back tomorrow or follow me on Twitter to find out as soon as the next poll opens up this week. I post on my blog Monday through Friday.

Note: One person wrote in the Lakota Peoples Law Project “For their work defending Water Protectors. WATER IS LIFE” and another person wrote in Nina Turner (she already won a monthly poll previously this year, so had she won again it would have gone to the next highest vote-getter).