I've decided that my first post on this subject would be in the form of an introduction that shows what the First Freedom First project staff is doing to help get the word out about the importance of safeguarding separation of Church and State, and protecting religious liberty.
The young man featured in this video is Eric, one of the First Freedom First project managers. The interview took place at the Media Reform conference in Memphis, TN. It was at that conference that Phil Donahue and Laura Flanders signed on in support of the project.
Basically, from now until the end of the year, FFF staff and volunteers will spend many of our weekends staffing tables at various conferences, festivals and events. We do this to help spread the word about why it's important to keep church and state separate. It's also a way to answer people's questions about church-state separation face-to-face.
If you've never "tabled" before, it can really be fun. Most of the time the people who stop by agree with your point of view, but not always. And fortunately, only a few of the people who disagree are overtly hostile. (Maybe that's because much of this sort of outreach takes place at progressive events where people tend to support church-state separation.)
Let me close by making a blatant appeal for volunteers. There are any number of ways you can help safeguard separation of church and state. You can:
1. Continue posting about the importance of church-state separation.
2. Go to the resource page of the FFF web site and copy the HTML code to add a sidebar or banner graphic promoting First Freedom First.
3. You can click on the volunteer sign-up page, and come join us if we are tabling in your area.
4. You can continue to urge everyone you know to sign the petition in support of safeguarding separation of church and state, and protecting religious liberty.
We know that a majority of Americans support church-state separation, but far too many of our elected officials in both Congress and in State Legislatures don't seem to know or want to acknowledge this fact. If we want them to set policy that strengthens the wall of separation, instead of threatening it, we must be able to demonstrate that there is support. And the easiest way to do this is for everyone who supports church-state separation to ban together in one simple act -- by signing the petition.
I've heard Blue Gal say that getting progressives to all do the same thing at the same time is like trying to herd cats, but if we want to prevent Religious right leaders like James Dobson, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson from having a disproportionate amount of influence over policy makers, we need to urge everyone to sign on.
I'm very excited about this weekend's Blog Against Theocracy, and can't wait to see what everyone contributes!
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1 comment:
it occured to me, reading bac's blog, that everyone who has ever called themselves feminists, activists, liberals, etc, has had more than their fair share of 'cat herding'.
it can be frustrating, but extremely rewarding. even heartwarming.
to see, what on the surface, divergant people coming together on one issue or another, and making their voices heard, and their demands validated by positive action, is a high better than any runner could ever brag about.
now that the blogswarm is over, it will be interesting to learn what the final count is...how many bloggers participated in it...and maybe how many new bloggers became bloggers in order to join in. like me.
so become a cat herder. this is an important issue, but so are so many others. maybe blogging is the wave of the future. maybe blogging will, if not take the place of petitions, but become just as important a venue for expressing your support of whatever point of view you hold, and all issues of importance in this country.
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