A few days ago, I received the following letter from U.S. Representative Pete Stark‘s office in acknowledgement of the contribution I made to him:
These are wonderful sentiments that I can strongly support. I don’t think there is any necessity for Rep. Stark to be modest – in the current political climate, it does take courage for an elected official to announce their nontheism, whether we like it or not – but it’s absolutely correct to say that the mere announcement does not by itself solve anything. What we should all be doing, atheist and theist alike, is working together to address the need that still exists in our society, and cooperating to build a better world for everyone. There will always be people who scorn the idea of helping others, or try to lead us astray by promising easy, painless answers to difficult problems, but we must also find the courage to set these illusions aside and do what we must. Human reason and conscience alone plainly point to the necessity of this step; revelation or prophecy is not needed. This line sums it up perfectly:
We don’t need divine guidance to tell us what is needed. All we need to do is listen to our neighbors, open our hearts, and make the hard political choices that will lead us to a better life for all.
And it’s wonderful, as well, that the letter ends with the signoff “Peace”. Peace is something we need more of in this world, and in contrast to the belligerent religious right that encourages endless war in the name of God, it gladdens my heart to see a fellow nonbeliever who recognizes that.