Kicked Off the Bus; My Editorial is Pubished in the Ottawa Citizen
Poll, Press February 19th, 2009
Now that our buses are in Toronto perhaps the media will switch their regular image to a Canadian one?
I was really thrilled to author a full editorial in the Ottawa Citizen yesterday which they titled:
Kicked off the bus: While it’s unfortunate that Ottawa won’t run our atheist bus ads, at least people are talking about important issues of ethics and faith
It was a great opportunity to defend the integrity of this campaign, highlight its main goals and respond to specific criticisms that have been leveled against us.
Two elements I was particularly happy to be able to make.
1. Responding to the claim that our bus ad makes atheists appear hedonistic:
While atheism is not itself an ethical system, secular and humanistic values are crucial to an open society. They are the values of individual autonomy and universal human rights. They include the belief that evidence, reason and free inquiry form the best way of seeking solutions to shared problems. Try fitting all that on the side of a bus.
2. Being able to plug the free speech angle that this campaign has suddenly taken on, which I think is key as we show atheists to be taking the high road, fighting for everyone’s right to be heard – both to offend and to be offended:
That freedom of expression is a key issue for us may be no surprise considering the refusal by Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver and other city transit operations to run our ads. But the Centre for Inquiry’s Campaign for Free Expression was inaugurated half a year ago when we recognized that censorship was becoming a defining issue in Canada, with human rights commissions across the country hearing cases involving such matters as the publication of religiously offensive words and pictures.
The banning of these ads is another attempt by governmental authorities to decide what Canadian citizens ought to be exposed to. We are fighting for everyone’s right to promote their values — religious and secular alike — in a neutral public square.
Enjoy, and let me know what you think of the piece.
—-
This entry is cross-posted to my personal blog www.equalismactivism.com
Discuss this on our forums at http://atheistbus.ca/forum
February 20th, 2009 at 3:23 am
I read that editorial and was very impressed. You should be proud of your mature and thoughtful defense of both the campaign and the larger values at stake. I know I am.
February 20th, 2009 at 4:02 am
Hello Rationalists !
From this discussion page, I got the name of Alex Cullen, an Ottawa City Council member who, I believe, is standing up in council to support the atheistbus ads there.
I sent him an email of support, and he encouraged me to pass on my views to all the council members. Responding to my request, Mr. Cullen sent me the email addresses of every council member.
I proceeded to send an email to all the 22 members and the mayor of Ottawa, Larry O’Brien. I urge all of you out there to do the same – we must stand up for freedom of speech and democracy.
I could paste the words of my letter here, but it’s probably better if you compose your own.
I said I stood for democracy, honesty, truth, and reason, etc….
Here is the mayor’s email ( larry.obrien@ottawa.ca ), and if you want the emails of the other members, just ask. I’ll post them.
Rationalism, skepticism, humanism, atheism, are not religions. Rationalists are simply ordinary citizens who question the validity of any claim, especially outrageous ones.
February 20th, 2009 at 4:25 am
“Now that our buses are in Toronto perhaps the media will switch their regular image to a Canadian one?”
But there are no good quality photos to download on your website! We have dozens of pics of UK buses on our site – perhaps the reason the press still uses our pictures?
Run a competition for the best bus pics and get them mailed in to you or uploaded on Flickr!
February 20th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Hedonism ? What are they talking about ?
Jesus taught:
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matt 6:34
I think Jesus was a “atheist” in this sense – There is no God “out there”
This is an “atheist” message we need everybody to hear.
Every thinking Man, Woman and child.
This message is so important -especially now.
Look within. There you will find your “God”
He is within and without.
February 20th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Hello Justin
Your editorial is a beautifully written and well argued defence and explanation of the Canadian Atheist Bus Campaign.
Please post some information about the debate “Can We Be Good Without God? A Just in Time Debate.” on Feb 25, 2009 in Halifax,
February 20th, 2009 at 8:41 am
Harvard,
Post the email addresses pls.
February 20th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Harvard
Thank you for the contact information for Ottawa. I will write members of the Ottawa City Council soon. Right now I am concentrating on Halifax. I want to write another letter to Lori Patterson in Halifax to comment on her appearance on Global TV’s show 16:9 The Bigger Picture and Daryl’s use “of the evil eye” and “fanatics target[ing] her buses” to describe Patterson’s attitude.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Here is where I found all their e-mails,
http://www.ottawa.ca/city_hall/mayor_council/councillors/index_en.html
Sometimes I get depressed and pissed off about politics, but then someone like Alex Cullens comes along to cheer me up.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:42 am
“The banning of these ads is another attempt by governmental authorities to decide what Canadian citizens ought to be exposed to”.
Truly amazing. Okay class, today’s word: “antipode”.
February 20th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
So Jeff I gather you think we shouldn’t complain when our government censors few things, because around the world their governments do a lot worse? I don’t think the fact that other people have it worse is good reason not to complain when we are wronged….
February 20th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Satan’s Doom
2007 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison
2008 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
2009 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
2010 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The Dead Are Judged
2011 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.
2012 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
2013 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
2014 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
2015 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
February 20th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Very good editorial, Justin! I’m interested in reading some of the reaction the Ottawa Citizen will get on your piece too.
February 20th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Thanks, Devon, for posting the link with email addresses for Ottawa City councillors. We wrote Alex Cullen in support and he suggested the same to us as he did to Harvard.
February 20th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Jeff K,
And your word for today is “lucidity”.
February 20th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
I agree with Carl Sagan.
In a 1996 interview with NPR’s Talk of the Nation, Sagan said (when asked about religious beliefs): “Where’s the evidence? Now, the word God is used to cover a wide variety of very different ideas, ranging maybe from the idea of an outsized light-skinned male with a long white beard who sits in a throne in the sky and tallies the fall of every sparrow–for which there is no evidence, none at all–to the view of Einstein, of Spinoza, which is essentially that God is the sum total of the laws of nature. And since there are laws of nature … if that’s what you mean by God, then of course there’s a God. So everything depends on the definition of God.”
In a 1996 interview with NPR’s Fresh Air, Sagan said: “I find that you learn absolutely nothing about someone’s belief if yu ask them ‘Do you believe in God?’ and they say yes or no. You have to specify which of the countless kinds of God you have in mind.”
In another 1996 interview, Sagan told Joel Achenbach: “An atheist has to know more than I know. An atheist is someone who knows there is no God.”
Sorry Justin. According to Carl Sagan, the term “Probably” makes you not an Atheist.
February 20th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
In regards to freedom of expression, other organizations don’t have to help you promote your ideas. If they’re a government organization though, they have to treat all religious viewpoints equally. Either no religious advertising, or it’s all allowed. So, you guys will only have a case if the Ottawa transit authority are being hypocritical on this issue.
February 20th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Linda,
Lucidity; Well, obviously someone a little bit further right on the political spectrum is going to emphasize rule of law, which is not a government authority, but rather something individuals can appeal to. Anyway, Chris is in polisci, most boring subject on the planet; I’m sure he got the reference.
February 20th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Fine article, Justin. In particular, good for noting that even though the ads say ‘god’ that Christians always seem to assume they’re the ones being targetted. And, I wonder how many people had to Google FSM after reading your letter.
Also, I agree with Jon – while Ariane Sherine’s real cute, where our own Toronto/Canada pic to start using with all these newspaper articles?
February 20th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Excellent editorial, Justin. I loved how you quietly ‘elevated’ the FSM to the same level as the others. Or was it vice versa?
I, too, think it’s a good idea to write to all of the Ottawa council members. I hope to get that done over the weekend.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Justin,
The article was very good.
What’s with the comment about the Ariane Sherine picture?
I personally think is use is valid, since that’s who got the ball rolling. I like the image and eloquence Ariane Sherine brings to the whole movement. I think it also provides the information that this bus campaign is something that has gone global, it isn’t just Canada moving in this direction its the whole world.
February 21st, 2009 at 6:53 am
For those who have not read
“An open letter to Justin Trottier” by Rev. Jason Boucher, The Ottawa Citizen February 11, 2009 and “Atheists help others” by Michel Cléroux, The Ottawa Citizen February 17, 2009, I have posted the URLs here
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/open+letter+Justin+Trottier/
1277722/story.html
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Life/Atheists+help+others/
1296965/story.html
February 21st, 2009 at 11:48 am
Perhaps we can find a billboard company in those cities whose transit systems have denied our request to post our ads.
February 21st, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I truly respect everyone’s right to believe in what they wish as I believe that on the day of judgement we will each be judged alone. Hey, that is why we were given a functioning intellectual brain, to make our own choices, and then we have to be ready to pay the price for these choices. However, what I’m wondering is, if one of the purposes of these bus ads is to promote a dialogue between people of all beliefs (and lack there of) then why would you choose an ad that offends people who believe in God right off the bat? When people are offended and on the defensive, it’s not very conducive to a healthy discussion.
Thus, I find myself questioning the logic of and intention behind such an ad.
I also think it’s outright simplistic to associate God with worry and lack of enjoyment…just because your perception of God is this evil being who wishes to unleash his wrath upon you and sentence you to eternal damnation, does not mean that that is truly what God is like, or that everyone’s perception of God is such. I for one, believe in a just, kind God and can enjoy my life just fine while believing that God exists. In fact, I only start to worry and not enjoy my life when I think that this world, is random chaotic and created for no purpose and that no one will be held accountable for any of the crimes they commit and get away with.
February 21st, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Dear Nick
Here’s a page from Ottawa Council = they’re all there, including pictures.
http://www.ottawa.ca/city_hall/mayor_council/councillors/index_en.html
February 22nd, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Lara,
I appreciate your views on the ad campaign. As a former Christian I have to agree that I never found my beliefs in God and the Gospel led to worry or lack of enjoyment of life. To the contrary, I was at peace and very happy. So I can see why the ad would be perplexing to you.
Unfortunately there are plenty of god-believers out there who portray God as being judgmental and vindictive and mean-spirited. The Bible itself, when taken literally, has presented such a god too. So the ad tries to address this concept of god, I believe.
Do you have a suggestion of a slogan for an atheist ad that you would have found non-offensive? Do you think atheists have a right to present their views at all in the public square?
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Here’s a good slogan:
“Believe nothing, no matter where you have read it, or who said it, even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own common sense.”
Buddha.
I’m starting to believe that this is really a Buddhist campaign – and that’s great.
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:07 pm
SLynnda: I found this in the Trash Bin of the Atheistbus Forum: It is Excellent.
Dalai Lama: I’m Buddhist, I’m a Buddhist practitioner. So actually I think that according to nontheistic Buddhist belief, things are due to causes and conditions. No creator. So I have faith in our actions, not prayer. Action is important. Action is karma. Karma means action. That’s an ancient Indian thought. In nontheistic religions, including Buddhism, the emphasis is on our actions rather than god or Buddha. So some people say that Buddhism is a kind of atheism. Some scholars say that Buddhism is not a religion — it’s a science of the mind.
Interviewer: Do you agree with that?
Dalai Lama: Oh, yes. I even consider Buddha and some of his important followers like Nagarjuna (one of Buddha’s leading disciples) to be scientists. Their main method is analytical. Analyze, analyze — not emphasis on faith. And these masters are not magicians.
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:21 pm
I like this one better though …
Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.
Without them humanity cannot survive.
Dalai Lama
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Justin may want to read this one:
Our prime purpose in this life is to help others.
And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.
Dalai Lama
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Lynda,
Last one for today:
We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.
Dalai Lama
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:10 am
Gabriel,
Have you heard of the wolf children? The stories of children raised by wolves seems to suggest that we CAN survive without human affection. There are many children who have survived very abusive childhoods with no affection from their parents. One may not be healthy, but survival without affection does appear to be possible.
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:26 am
I’ve received 6 responses from emails I sent to the 12 Ottawa City councillors. Most just thanked for my input, but two stated their positions. One supported the ban since there was already enough evidence from constituent letters and negative response in the media to show that some riders of the buses would find the ads offensive. The other councillor, who claimed to be religious, was supportive of allowing the ads to run because atheists had received so much free publicity already and running the ads would, at least, get them to pay for the publicity.
I think the councillors will vote on the issue on March 11th.
February 24th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Great editorial. Too bad his website (equalism activism!?) is totally bonkers. I excepted more…from him and the atheist bus crew who apparently supports the tripe on his site by letting him advertise here.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
@ PJ, if you’re going to call his website “totally bonkers” can you please point out which parts you’re referring to? It’s hard to take claims seriously without supporting evidence to back your argument.
February 24th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
@ PJ – the blog clearly states in the top right: “An independent blog, unaffiliated with any organization”
The FAC is in no way affiliated with this blog, Mr. Trottier just happens to write for both and is a busy guy who doesn’t have time to write two blog posts about the exact same thing.
February 25th, 2009 at 3:24 am
———–PJ said, “I excepted more … ” ——–
It really is difficult to take an illiterate seriously.
.
.
March 1st, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Is anyone organizing a demo or protest at Ottawa City Hall for when City Council meets on March 11? I would be happy to show up and domonstrate. Does anyone know what is being planned, if anything?
March 1st, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Yes, there will an event in Ottawa in support of the atheist bus campaign. It will consist of a presentation by me and co-hosted by the Freethought Association of Canada and the Humanist Association of Ottawa. I would like to host a rally as well in front of city hall, if there is time to do so. More information to come on this blog. If there are those who would like to get involved with us in Ottawa please contact me directly at president@freethoughtassociation.ca
March 1st, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Should I bring my gas mask? or is it not that kind of rally?
If you want to put on a protest I am sure you could get a lot of people, I am willing to drive from near toronto…
I really like the idea of standing there with duct tape over your mouth, sometimes saying nothing can get your message across. It would be earily different than most protests if you have like 50 people standing there, unable to speak, very symbolic. You gotta get the message out quick though, you could get a lot of people to show if you let everyone know they won’t be alone. If you had the support, you could bus(how ironic) people in from all over…
However some may not feel the need to protest unless they don’t allow the ads after this meating…made, like after the fact.
It might be hard for me to get that day off…
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Justin, on what date are you making this presentation in Ottawa? Is it to City Council? What time is the meeting?
If you would like some help in organizing some kind of peaceful demo or protest outside City Hall before your presentation, I can volunteer. I have 30 years experience in Media Relations and as a media spokesperson for various organizations. Since we have both French and English media in the Ottawa area, I could help with the drafting of a bilingual notice to the media announcing the demo (which would increase the turnout) and perhaps a news releases in English and French summarizing your presentation. We could hand these out to the media and to passersby at the protest.
A news release summarizing your main points is a good way to ensure that the media report your message accurately. I could also give interviews to French-language media on your behalf, unless you feel comfortable doing them yourself, Justin.
These are only suggestions, but if I can help with the Ottawa event in this way or in other ways, please let me know.