Unbelievable Australia
Many readers will have been shocked to hear that APN Outdoor, Australia’s largest public advertiser, has refused $16,000 worth of business from the Atheist Foundation.
The Atheist ad campaign took its inspiration from one launched by the British Humanist Association and similar campaigns have been run in the US and Spain.
Considering the resurgence of religious fundamentalisms around the globe, it could be argued atheists have not just a right but a duty to be as evangelical in counterbalance.
Yet even in the UK atheist sentiments had to be toned down, with its Advertising Standards Authority forcing the Humanists to ad a probably to the statement There’s no God.
Public advertising is an essential part of the democratic process in 21st Century Australia. It forms a vital platform for the free exchange of ideas, where any group or individual who can club together the cash can ideally be heard.
In the realm of belief, all viewpoints are intrinsically offensive to all others. The most carefully worded assertion that a religion is the right one makes heretics of the rest, while Atheists feel equally insulted when believers claim morality to be divine -” the implication being that without such a belief, you can’t have any.
Unless an ad is vilifying a group or individuals, advertising companies should not be able to refuse an ad.
In related news, the cut off for submissions to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s (HREOC) inquiry into rights of belief in this country is the 31st of this month.
Positions of disbelief and to live free from interference from the beliefs of others deserve equal protection to religions under the law.
These issues are particularly important for our community, whether it be the government’s continued refusal to countenance same-sex marriage based on religiously contrived standards, or the exemptions given to religious groups allowing them to segregate their workplaces by refusing to hire us, or to toss gay students out of school.
info: Have your say at
www.hreoc.gov.au/frb/index.html
News Ltd is now reporting that the deadline for submissions has been extended to February 28th.
For more information go to- http://www.hreoc.gov.au/frb/index.html
On a related note (and because sometimes, the things that prove very tricky are actually worth fighting for):
Australians for Separation of Church & State
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=54429760859
Like any other group in our community, atheists have every right to state their case…Andrew, u r so right in saying that it can be argued ‘they have not just a right but a duty to be as evangelical in counterbalance’, as currently many religions seem to have its fingers in many pies, stirring many pots with propaganda and fear.
Control freak humans hiding under religion are very dangerous types, always utilising the basic human core values such as ‘pulling on our heart strings’ and ’emotional & spiritual blackmail’ to basically control and limit others…the moment one of us humans then expresses a basic human core feeling (possibly free thinking), the religious control freaks adamantly put a stop to it…very contradictory, one minute they rely on our basic human core values and the next they are crushing the same thing saying we shouldn’t be/think/talk like that. Very handy, contradictory and not consistent…they should watch themselves as their hate for freedom is becoming obvious. Sense of fair play either stays or goes not picked and disregarded at will.
WHAT, like they can say ‘god does exist’ and we can’t say ‘god doesn’t exist’…more double standards with no logic or consistency once again. And I am not atheist but give them tonnes of credit for our human freedom choices.
Yet another example where a Bill/Charter of Rights could prove very tricky…