When Unity can be Divisive

As another September 11 anniversary approaches, it is wonderful to know that people are making a broad and sincere effort to bring people together, recognizing differences, but refusing to let those differences divide us. A local event, Unity Day, with the participation of several Collin County mayors, is striving to do just that. I would love to participate in it with my family. But a closer look tells me that it is not for me and not for people like me.

Unity Day, it turns out, is a gathering of the faithful from a laudably inclusive range of religions. Most important, of course, is bringing together Muslims and Christians, but all other faiths have a place. According to press reports it will be an occasion for people of different faiths to "all pray for peace" together.

But I am an atheist. There is no place for me in a gathering of the faithful, and if a major part of the event is to all pray together, then that too is not for me and others like me. But like so many others, I want stand with my neighbors and remember 9/11. I want to be part of common voice saying that we will do what we can to heal the divisions between people. And I want to rise with my all my compatriots to say that we are one nation with a passion for liberty and justice for all.

I am just as patriotic as my more religious neighbors, and any suggestion otherwise hurts. After his reelection, our President said, "the great tradition of America is one where people can worship the way they want to worship. And if they choose not to worship, they're just as patriotic as your neighbor. That is an essential part of why we are a great nation." Let's follow in that spirit. Just as we strive to treat the Muslim Americans as being no less American than Christian Americans, we should also strive to treat the atheist as being no less American than the religious.

So here I am, excluded from this event. Certainly I could show up, but I've heard all those speeches before, and know that people will be talking as if I don't exist. Certainly I'm free to organize an event for non-believers, but that would be even more divisive. I suppose that I could protest and demand that the event's mission be changed, but that would be just about the worst thing to do. So here is what I ask: when you hear the speeches about God's love for all humanity, remember that your talk of "Unity" is false advertising. As for advise to other atheists who feel the exclusion and hurt that I do, I can only borrow some ancient words of wisdom: Forgive them for they know not what they do. Let's all pray or hope that next year we can have a less divisive unity day.

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First Established: 2005/07/28