[Vision2020] Whack-a-Dos On & Off the Council At It Again

[Ted Moffett]

I'm not sure exactly who the humanist billboard was intended to reach,
according to the creator of the content or those who paid for its
placement.  You may very well be correct, that it was aimed at an adult
audience.  This is likely.   And of course it is legally protected speech.
But legal does not always imply ethical or desirable, sometimes quite the
opposite.

I was assuming the complaints against this billboard might have had some
basis in the life of the person complaining to the city council.  Perhaps
their daughter, I think it was, read the billboard and was upset by it?  I
don't know.  Because the billboard is intended for adults does not mean it
cannot have an impact on children.

Children are sometimes far more intelligent and aware than adults give them
credit for, and some children indeed do want to give up childish beliefs,
especially in our modern world which some with dismay think is forcing
children to grow up far too fast, sacrificing childhood in the process.

Anyway, I don't have a problem with the content of that billboard, but I
can understand why someone would.
------------------------------------------
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett

On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 4:23 PM, Joe Campbell <philosopher.joe at gmail.com>wrote:

> Ted,
>
> Do you really think that the posters are geared towards children as
> opposed to adults? I thought the message was (to adults): Don't act
> like children. Believing in God -- the claim says -- is like believing
> in Santa Claus.
>
> Forgetting about whether or not what the poster says is true -- a
> point about which we might disagree -- don't you think it is more
> geared towards adults than children? Why would children what to give
> up childish beliefs?
>
> Best, Joe
>
> On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 4:13 PM, Ted Moffett <starbliss at gmail.com> wrote:
> > First Amendment, of course.  As though this needs to be emphasized and
> > debated?  Scary!
> >
> > The responses against this humanist billboard might in part be explained
> by
> > the fact that sometimes "the truth hurts," as it's said.  And given the
> > anti-scientific intellectual brainwashing (on evolution, age of the
> Earth,
> > sexuality issues, anthropogenic global warming, et. al.) that many
> religions
> > inflict upon children, which I consider a form of child abuse, perhaps
> there
> > is a need to counterbalance this form of "education," which might in
> part be
> > the intention of those paying for the billboard.
> >
> > But to take the other side, if someone put up a billboard aimed at 4 year
> > olds enlightening them to the truth that Santa Claus is a fantasy, some
> > might consider this to be a cruel robbing of children of innocent
> childhood
> > fantasy.
> >
> > To some children, religious concepts or fantasies are a source of
> comfort.
> >
> > I recall feeling comforted by my "guardian angel" when I was a child,
> though
> > there is no such entity, that I know of... On the other hand, questions
> > about the safety of an environment where a child would need a "guardian
> > angel" are a clue regarding what motivates human beings to indulge in
> > religious fantasies about a world they do not understand and find
> > threatening.
> >
> > I think it likely that some religious concepts have their origins in
> > attempts in less scientific less modern times to comprehend and control a
> > world humans did not understand and thus sought "supernatural"
> explanations.
> > ------------------------------------------
> > Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 12:08 PM, Saundra Lund <v2020 at ssl1.fastmail.fm>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> To me, the most hilarious part of the article was "Throw the Evidence
> >> Away"
> >> Carscallen thinking he's in any position to call anyone or anything else
> >> "classless."  Oh, pot -- kettle is looking for you  :-)
> >>
> >> From Tuesday's Daily News:
> >>
> >>
> >> Councilors reaffirm 1st Amendment rights of Humanists
> >>
> >>  By Brandon Macz, Daily News staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, December 4,
> >> 2012 12:00 am
> >>
> >> A Moscow resident took city councilors to task a second time in a
> >> separation
> >> of church and state and marketing issue regarding an American Humanist
> >> Association billboard he says has caused his young daughter harm.
> >>
> >> Judd Wilson first approached the council during its last meeting to
> >> complain
> >> about the sign at the southern end of town that states, "I'm getting a
> bit
> >> too old for imaginary friends," and depicts a young girl on it. This
> time
> >> he
> >> said he took offense to receiving no response from the city save for its
> >> attorney Randy Fife, whom he referred to as "The Lawyer."
> >>
> >> Wilson said councilors lacked sympathy for the impassioned speech he
> gave
> >> about a medical emergency regarding his daughter and how his Christian
> God
> >> saved her life nor had they done anything to discourage billboards
> >> attacking
> >> religious faith from being erected in the city. He added Mayor Nancy
> >> Chaney
> >> had supported proclamations positive toward homosexuality, but never for
> >> Christianity.
> >>
> >> "It seems you have no interest in doing anything for my daughter,"
> Wilson
> >> said.
> >>
> >> Council President Dan Carscallen repeated Fife's public response to
> >> Wilson's
> >> initial comment last month by stating the council has no power to
> regulate
> >> the content of billboards.
> >>
> >> "Honestly, in my opinion, I think the sign is classless," he said. "To
> me,
> >> I
> >> choose to ignore it."
> >>
> >> Wilson said the council should set a community standard to discourage
> >> groups
> >> like the AHA from placing billboards in Moscow.
> >>
> >> Councilor Wayne Krauss said he was offended Wilson didn't think the
> >> council
> >> cared.
> >>
> >> "First of all, I really don't know what you expect us to do," he said.
> >> "You
> >> know what the First Amendment is. You know what it stands for. ... We
> know
> >> what we can do and we know what we can't do."
> >>
> >> Councilor Walter Steed said he outright didn't like billboards of any
> >> substance, and particularly didn't care for the Humanist one, but there
> >> was
> >> nothing that could be done.
> >>
> >> Greg Evans of Princeton said he didn't have a problem with most Humanist
> >> signs.
> >>
> >> "I've found them amusing. I've found them enjoyable in a way," he said.
> >>
> >> But Evans said he did not like the sign in Moscow because of its
> direction
> >> at children, adding it included a link to a website with sexually
> explicit
> >> content for teenagers. This would be the AHA teen webpage, which
> includes
> >> a
> >> link regarding sexual education for humanists.
> >>
> >> "There seems to be a real interest in arguing spirituality and religion
> in
> >> this country," Councilor Tom Lamar said. "I get really tired of arguing
> >> religion."
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> ----
> >>
> >> Brandon Macz can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 238, or by email to
> >> bmacz at dnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrandonMacz.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
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