It seems that a lot of national secular organizations are feeling growth pains. Some bloggers are feeling jilted for losing their positions "above the fold" on some national secular websites; others are shocked that certain people were appointed to boards of directors who have a checkered blogging past because they were affiliated with extreme liberal or conservative political organizations.
The religious love this because they get to claim there is a "schism" developing in the atheist movement. There are certain groups that will attempt to distinguish themselves from the rest of us non-believers and still proclaim themselves as non-believers too, but this is really about the money. Ever since the beginning of tribal competition over resources, members become charismatic competitors with the original leaders of the group and decide to split off because they want to make their own money.
Pure atheism is simply the rejection of mysticism. Since the beginning of time, human behavior has been influenced by the presence of an invisible audience to such a degree that it seems to have become genetically ingrained and inherited, even in multiple generations of non-believers. I won't back up this statement with any evidence because my record of having my statements eventually come true through later discoveries is quite good, plus I really don't have the time right now to look into it. I'm confident the neuroscience is there.
It is the goal of atheism to rewire the brain to its maximum potential by eliminating false psycho-social controls and replace them with real-life reasoning. Here are such false psycho-social controls:
"Fait accompli" is the belief that your current existence is your "lot" in life, or that "this is the hand you were dealt, so wallow in the mire of your unsatisfactory existence." You must reject anyone who tells you "this is your lot in life so accept it." Never put the brakes on improving yourself.
"Karma:" You believe that someone who wronged you will get their "comeuppance" eventually or "what goes around-comes around." Someone told you not to actively seek justice because it will take care of itself. This is not true. You must seek justice immediately to condition or at least teach, those who wronged you from repeating the bad behavior.
"Spirits: The Invisible Audience:" You grew up with the idea that Santa Claus keeps a list of who is naughty or nice, angels abound overhead, and you are watched over by an omnipresent deity, but that idea doesn't last very long, so the idea of a "Hell" as a consequence for your actions motivates or demotivates your decisions throughout life. The Imaginary Audience is a psychological condition that may have been programmed by endless generations of religious indoctrination.
What is the political color of atheism? Science tells us that human behavior is purely selfish in nature. Ayn Rand who was an atheist, made the idea of Objectivism popular and this idea became the motivation behind the type of "Free market capitalism" we have today. Capitalists use Machiavellianism as a method of camouflage for their objectivist capitalist methods. Machiavellianism is evident by people who proclaim themselves to be obedient members of a religion, yet do not practice in their daily lives according to their religious teachings.
To be an atheist, one must be honest about scientific findings regarding human behavior, and not be lulled into a false sense of security by following the belief that everyone else fears Hell, because the Machiavellianists are apparently so religious and yet, so fearless of Hell that they will tell a crowd anything to gain favor.
In the old days of snail-mail and limited broadcast media, the Machiavellianists reigned supreme because they could go from town to town and tell separate crowds anything they wanted to hear, and adjust their messages for maximum votes, but not anymore. Unfortunately for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, There are too many fact-checkers.
Atheists can start out as Republicans or Democrats and can be fiscally conservative or liberal as far as science can carry their arguments. Eventually those labels will be shed and replaced by pragmatism. Social mores in atheism are only limited by the negative impacts on health or well-being of individuals or society.
You can be free to do what ever you want; use any substance you want; be free to not wear your motorcycle helmet or seat belt, only as long as you don't have the same insurance as me, or go to the same hospital I do, hurt anyone else, or involve anyone else in any activity without their fully informed consent or the consent of their guardians.
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