Today I’m going to talk about something I don’t normally discuss on my blog. After DOMA was struck down last week, I’ve been seeing some interesting stuff going around about religion, atheism, homosexuality, etc., and how the gays and nontheists are tearing away at the fabric of our society.

I am an atheist. That means I don’t believe in God. That does not mean I hate God. It also does not mean I want to ban religion in this country (and I don’t know any other atheists that do), or that I hate religious people, or that I think I am better than religious people. It also does not mean I believe that we magically appeared on the Earth from nothing one day.

It does mean that I am vehemently opposed to the homophobia, sexism, racism, and violence that has been fueled by religion over thousands of years. It does mean I fully support Separation of Church and State. It does mean I support the advancement of science and technology and believe they do far more good for the world than religion ever will.

I just want to be left the fuck alone. I don’t want religion involved in my government, and I don’t think that is an irrational request in a country that grants every citizen freedom of religion. I believe that in order for our country to run efficiently, secular law must rule over religious law. If we were fueled by religion, the U.S. would be operating like the Middle East. Maybe some of you disagree because you see significant differences in western Christianity and Islam, and maybe you’re right. To me, it’s all part of the same dollar menu. Same ingredients, different order. This is why I am not religious and why I don’t want our country based on it.

Anyway, back to DOMA and marriage equality. Imagine that you’re standing in line at Subway and you’re telling the sandwich artist what you’d like on your black forest ham and turkey six inch sub on Italian herbs and cheese bread. Provolone cheese, light on the lettuce, onions, olives, banana peppers, jalapenos, OOOOOH and some avocado. You’re all about the avocado they finally rolled out. Smear that shit on there, gracias, de nada, world peace.

You’re all like YEAH, AVOCADO and then some asshole behind you is like NO! SUBWAY HAS NEVER OFFERED AVOCADO BEFORE, THAT’S NOT WHAT SUBWAY IS ABOUT! SUBWAY IS ABOUT THE BASICS OF A GOOD OLD FASHIONED SUB SANDWICH! PUT THAT SHIT DOWN AND GET A JOB, HIPPIE! YOU ARE DESTROYING THE SANCTITY OF THE FIVE DOLLAR FOOTLONG! SIR, IF YOU PUT THAT AVOCADO ON HIS SUB I’M LEAVING AND GOING TO TUBBY’S!

Not only does this guy not want avocado on his sub, but he also doesn’t want it on YOUR sub. Or anyone’s sub. He doesn’t want Subway to even offer avocado because he doesn’t believe it belongs on a sub sandwich.

That’s how it sounds when someone opposes marriage equality or any other social/political movement based on religious beliefs. Whether you prefer a totally traditional sub with nothing but low-cal mayonnaise or a colorful spread of veggies on top of your meat, it’s all welcome. The fancy veggie guy is not ruining things for your mayo fetish.

Maybe I’m naive, but I really do believe that there is room for everyone of every faith or non-faith in this country. I also know this is a completely pointless blog post because the only people who are going to comprehend this are people who already agree with me.

I wrote all of this for one final note that is actually the only thing I wanted to say on here (I get overly inspired by avocado, sorry):

Refusing to support or respect any religion or belief that promotes hate, homophobia, sexism, racism, or violence is not intolerance. Calling out people who are hateful toward others based on their race, gender, or sexuality is also not intolerant. Disapproving of intolerance is not intolerance in itself.

I know atheism is still kind of taboo in this country. Sometimes I feel weird telling people I’m an atheist because I didn’t have my “come to Non-Jesus” moment until about 2 years ago, and it’s something that shouldn’t even have a word associated with it. However, I do believe it has made me a more tolerant and open-minded person, so if you ever have questions about it I am always open to discussion. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to convert you. I guess I felt the need to write this post to explain where I/we come from, because the things I’ve seen people say after the strikedown of DOMA are really sad. I might not believe in your religion, but that doesn’t mean I want to force you to be gay or like, get you murdered or something. I’m not a threat. I’m just another citizen of Earth that wants everyone to be happy.