I am an Atheist

I am an Atheist. I am your neighbor, the one who helps you when your car is stuck in the snow, and who watches over your house when you’re on vacation. I am your friend, the one who is ready with a witty joke when you’re in need of a laugh, or an open ear and a cold beer when you are confronting adversity. I’m the one you go golfing with, camping with, and watch the game with.

I am your son, the one who has always tried to make you proud. I am the one in all of the family photos. I am your brother, your nephew and your cousin. I am the one who is always smiling and wanting to make you laugh. And, I am an Atheist.

I am an Atheist who is a professional in his career, and who has taken every opportunity to succeed. I am your boss, your coworker and also your employee. I have learned more from you than you have learned from me. I have not felt as a leech on society or felt entitled to anything but human dignity.

I am a Veteran. A man grateful for his freedom and humbled at the opportunity he had to serve his country as just one of a long line of family members to do so. A man who felt indebted to those who served for our rights and freedoms before him, and felt it only right to do the same. I am a proud patriot, and I am an Atheist.

I am an Atheist, and I am a father. A father who lives in humility at what he sees in the eyes of his child. A father who marvels at their respect for everyone and everything around them. A father who teaches his child how to think, not what to think. A father who devotes his time and attention to a young child with a thirst for life. A father who laughs, cries, teaches, heals, mentors, talks with and listens to his child. I am a father who has never raised his voice or lifted a hand at his child. A father who’s never had to use fear to motivate his child.

I am a part of the community, engaged in community activities, their environmental conscience, and respect for those who keep our community safe. I am a man who tries to be as philanthropic as possible with both his time and his resources to causes benefiting Cancer, MS, Cardiovascular Disease, Parkinson’s, Child Abuse, Autism, Women’s Rights, HIV, Big Brother & Big Sister Programs, Scouting, Disabled Veterans, Animal Welfare, and programs to assist the Homeless. I sponsor a young girl in Bangladesh, supporting programs to improve her education and basic quality of life. A girl from another culture and of another lifestyle. A girl, 8,000 miles away, who I will never meet. And, I am an Atheist.

I am an Atheist. I don’t worship the devil, and I’m not a Neo-Nazi or a White Supremacist. I don’t belong to a Cult and I’m not engaged in breaking the laws of society. I am not perfect, but I learn from my mistakes. I don’t judge my neighbor based on their gender, their race, or their sexual preference. I see my neighbors as people who are entitled to the same innate rights as I am as dignified and civilized human beings. They are Americans, Chinese, Indians, Sikhs, Mexicans, Poles, Italians, and Egyptians; to name just a few. We all share the same oxygen, and are wetted by the same rain.

I was a Catholic for many years of my life. But now I am an Atheist.

I am an Atheist. I am a man of moral conscience and social compatibility. I am a man of strength who has a right to profess and be proud of what he stands for without it being misunderstood, or labeled as the manifestation of an evil affliction or perdition. I am not a threat to you. I simply try to be a caretaker of a reasonable humanity.

My mind and my compassion work in a tandem motion of what is right and reasonable. I seek the truth with my own eyes and systemically discount the things that seem capricious, illogical, irrational, oppressive, inhumane, or vacant. I view the world around me as a limitless opportunity to grow and to learn; not a world where I am bounded by the restrictions or indoctrinations laid down by those before me. I fight to understand, to comprehend, to keep my mind free and open, and to effect the world around me with a passion for reason and knowledge.

I am an Atheist.