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Shaking Things Up In America!

-by, Marquell Garrett
-DATED: March 21, 2008



Over 8 years now I have considered myself and atheist at least in some part. There was much time were I indeed dared to challenge my true knowledge and identity by falsely presenting myself as an agnostic-atheist. I must say from my past experiences that it is not possible to be an unadorned agnostic. It simply doesn’t exist. I learned that a person must decide whether or not to believe or not to believe in a higher-being or power regardless of the principles surrounding the proof of God or a higher-being. I decided a long time ago that there were no god and the fact is that accusing myself of being an agnostic is simply to try to avoid the negative stigma and discrimination that comes with being an atheist, at least in America. I find now though that this was very hypocritical of me and cowardly of me. A person should not hide what they are for any reason, not even to protect their own freedom or life. Life isn’t about making compromises to protect ones right to happiness and freedom. Surely happiness and freedom is a corner stone of life and should be protected but life is about pursuing happiness and freedom and being true to oneself. If I was to deny my true convictions and principles then I would deny my own happiness and freedom and thus my own life which are the very things all Homo sapiens holds dear to their hearts. I am not speaking for all non-believers when I say this but an atheist generally is a freer person than a theist not because he or she has a free and open mind, for this is great, but an atheist is generally freer because he or she allows nothing to hold them back even if it goes against the very core and fabric of their dreams, convictions, and heart. There are troubled times in this world for the non-believer. There is no place of refuge or land of freedom and equality were the atheist can go to pursue their happiness, freedom, and dreams. I wanna tell you about this great and powerful nation. A couple centuries ago a few men gathered around and talked about how cruel and unfair the government was and that something had to be done about it. These men talked about principles like freedom, equality, and basic rights of the individual. These men talked about a government that would be created by the people and ran by the people. These men talked about man’s basic right to live and let live. These men then inspired the birth of an Army and set out to create such government. The problem was though that by doing so was a direct act of high treason that would be punished by death. These brave men didn’t care though; they believed that all men should be free and have fair and equal representation by their government. These men went on to create that great government and nation and attempted to spread the ideas of such government across the globe. This nation physically still stands today but is far different from its original founding principles. If the men who dreamt up the idea of this nation were around today they wouldn’t even recognize the nation because it has become the very thing they hated. That nation is the United States of America and many have come to call it America, the land of dreams and hopes. But America has no dreams and hopes for the non-believer. America has no dreams and hopes for the two young men who meet in their freshman year of college, feel in-love, and wishes to marry. America has no hopes and dreams for the non-believer who is forced to observe a national religion through means of spending currency that reads In God We Trust and living in a nation that has a pledge that represents only the religious majority and not the non-believers. Things are not right in America. At some point citizens of a nation have to stop and observe their nation to ask, what has happened to this nation? I am asking America today, what has happened to this nation? What has happened to the fair and equal representation of all people by its government? What has happened to the right for one human being to marry another and not have this right regulated by the government? What has happened to Separation of Church and State? What has happened to the rights of the individual far outweighing the rights of the government? Since when has America become the land where the government picks and choose whose dreams and hopes will flourish and come true? Things are certainly out of whack in America. I think that it’s about time to put things back in whack. I think its time to shake things up a little bit. It’s time for Americans to hold the politicians and government officials accountable. It’s time to elect government officials based on whether or not they believe in freedom and equality for all no matter the circumstances. It’s time to elect officials who will listen to the people and report to the people instead of electing officials that will force the people to listen to the elected officials and report to the elected officials. It’s time to pick up our picket signs and march on Washington. The only difference is that we should not surround the capital and demand to be heard. No, we have done this for over 200 years. We need to walk on to the Senate and House of Representatives floor and tell the Senators and Representatives the way things are going to be. It’s time to march on Washington and go to the White House, not to surround it for we have been doing this for almost 200 years. No, we need to enter the White House, march into the Oval Office and demand to the President that he either acts in the best interests and wishes of the people or get the hell out of the Oval Office. We need to march on Washington and storm into the Supreme Court to demand they accept all cases that clearly involves a person’s civil and constitutional rights being violated. In addition to this we need to let these Supreme Court Justices know that if they act in manners that will not reflect the Constitution or the rights of the individual then they will be thrown out on their butts. It’s time to take all U.S. currency that reads In God We Trust and take it the door steps of the Treasury and demand that the phrase “In God We Trust” is removed. It’s time for children of not only non-believers, but children of true Americans, Americans that believe in equality and freedom, to set down on the pledge in the school houses and refuse to recite the pledge to the flag. Yes, it’s time to shake thing up a little bit. Some are going to say that this is hateful, this is anti-Christian, this is anti-American, and that this will never solve anything and only infuriate the people. Well I have this message for those people who say such things. The non-believers in this nation are already infuriated. The homo-sexual couples who are denied the right to adopt a child in the state of Florida are already infuriated. The Homosexuals in 49 out of 50 states that are denied the right to marry their lover are already infuriated. The atheist that is denied the right to teach in a classroom and serve as the head of a department in a college because the parents and students feel that it would be too offensive to have an atheist in such position is infuriated. The atheist who is denied the right to live in a community neighborhood peacefully because community neighbors feel it is too difficult to explain to their kids what an atheist is, is infuriated. The transsexuals who are denied the basic right to live in their home without being disturbed and work without being fired is infuriated. Thousands! That’s the number of people who are fired from their jobs and forced from their homes after deciding to be true to themselves and undergo a sex change. I am very sure that the thousands of non-believer parents who have children that are forced to recite the pledge to the flag or face disciplinary or social consequences are infuriated. No, I think its time to shake things up a little bit. Things have been out of control and out of whack for far too long. You know I stated in my Atheist Review that atheist should learn to control their own neighborhoods and control their own fate. Well here we are almost a year later and not enough atheists are controlling their own fate. I said in my speech The Fate of America that if you don’t make the difference then no one else will. It’s time for us to control our own fate. It’s time for atheist to elect government and political officials that reflect what is in the best interests and concerns of the atheist. It’s time to see an atheist become a U.S. Congressman. It’s time to see an atheist become a U.S. Senator. It’s time to see an atheist become a U.S. President. It’s time to see an atheist become a Supreme Court Justice. It’s time to see an atheist become a citizen. It’s time to see an atheist group be given thousands of dollars from federal and State resources to help the thousands of poor and homeless atheist Americans out there that are not heard. But it just isn’t time to see these great things happen for the atheists. It just isn’t time to see a major grocery store franchise owned by an atheist. No, it’s time to see a homosexual elected to the Congress. It’s time to see a homosexual openly admit being a homosexual and find themselves still elected Governor. It’s time to see a homosexual elected to the White House. It’s time to see America put aside all of our beggaring and hatred and elects a homosexual as a United States Senator. I had a person tell me once that homosexuals in this country will never achieve anything because they won’t stand up for anything in this nation. Well I have a message for all of those who agree with this. Why would someone stand up to be beat back down again? Why would someone admit to being a homosexual only to be fired from their jobs, tortured, isolated, and denied their basic civil and equal rights? It is only natural that homosexuals have remained in the closet for so long. But I will tell you what else is natural. When a person is beaten for so long, when a person is kept down for so long, when a person find themselves un able to pursue their happiness and denied their basic human rights for so long, it is only natural that they will eventually have enough and rise up against the oppression. I have another message for America. Homosexuals in this nation have had enough. Atheists in this nation have had enough. The transsexuals in this nation who are called freaks and fired from their jobs in this nation everyday have had enough. And I will tell America one more thing. The uprising is coming. The homosexuals are standing up. The atheists are standing up. A revolution is about to happen in this nation and if anyone tries to stop it or is on the wrong side of the battle field they will surely fail. You see the prejudice, torturing, and hatred has gone on long enough. America is suppose to be the land of the free and the home of the brave yet haven’t been 100% free since it’s creation so it’s time to shake things up a little bit. The people in power are not just going to give or recognize the homosexuals’ basic civil, equal, and human rights. No, the homosexuals are going to have to take them. The people in power are not just going to give or recognize the atheists’ basic civil, equal, and human rights. No, my fellow atheists we are going to have to take them. The religious majority is not going to accept homosexual rights and their right to marry who they very well please, so the religious majority will have to be forced by the homosexuals to accept and deal with the fact that homosexuals are human beings and deserve the same rights as any one of them. The religious majority is not going to accept that the atheists in this nation will be treated and represented fairly by this government and not be oppressed by religion so my fellow atheists, we are going to have to force them to accept and deal with the fact that we will have our rights. In conclusion, nothing will come to the non-believers in this nation by simply demanding for their rights. The atheists in this country will have take control of their own fate by electing officials that represent their interests and concerns. The atheist will have to start their own communities and businesses, invite others to join, and set the example of an ideal America. Nothing will come to the homosexuals in this nation by simply demanding for their rights. The homosexuals in this country will have take control of their own fate by electing officials that represent their interests and concerns. The homosexuals will have to start their own communities and businesses, invite others to join, and set the example of an ideal America. Sitting around hoping and waiting for change will solve nothing, you have to get out there and make the change. If the government is either unable or unwilling to protect someone whether it is the person’s rights or the person’s freedom then it would only be natural and wise for that person to do anything and everything to protect and preserve their life and freedom regardless of the views of the government. America likes to pretend that there isn’t a prejudice and hatred problem in this nation by ignoring the massive amount of inequality and prejudice homosexuals have to go through every day in this nation. America likes to ignore the way it forces non-believers in this nation to observe a supernatural being through a national symbol of religion. America likes to pretend that there is no prejudice toward the atheists in this country but yet atheists are forced to move from their neighborhoods everyday and fired from their jobs. There is a major problem in America and what needs to be done about it is that We need to let the world know of the prejudice, discrimination, and hatred in this nation and take control of our own fate. Yes, it’s time to shake things up in America.

The Fate of America

-by, Marquell Garrett
-DATED: February 03, 2008



I have learned by looking at America these past few years, specifically 2007, that America has lost the passion and desire for freedom. It is more apparent today that Americans believe that freedom will come to them soon enough, all they have to do is wait. After all history teaches us this. History teaches us that only through hard work and determination does change happens. If you would look at America, dating back to the colonial times, slaves in this nation faced cruel and harsh lives right here in America, the so call land of the free and the home of the brave. However, the slaves in this nation certainly were not free and their “massas” certainly were not brave. It took the bravery and courage of many black and African Americans to stand up and fight the oppression in this nation. Only then, through many years, lives, and generations did black and African Americans arrive were they are today. Their journey is not complete, as there is still ignorant people in this nation who wish to oppress black and African Americans. History teaches us through unity of the black people and through their bravery and courage to fight for freedom, freedom can and will come to this nation for all. By setting on the couch waiting and hoping for better days in this nation nothing will happen. I become very upset when I hear about so many young people and so many people in general being dissatisfied with the direction of this nation moving away from the ideas of freedom, yet these same people remain silent and fail to fight for equality and freedom in America and fail to express their voices to America. I must say to all of those who are setting on the sideline and not joining the fight, if you do not control your own fate, if you do not control the fate of this nation, then someone else will and it will not be a happy or peaceful fate. If you don’t make the difference, no one else will. Today this nation fails to represent all citizens of this nation fairly and equally. Today this nation fails to protect the rights and civil liberties of all citizens of this nation and even proposes to limit individual rights. For the first time in U.S. history we are proposing laws and constitutional amendments to limit the rights of people instead of protecting them. What does this say about our nation? Some say that such notion of banning same sex marriages, such amendment is only to protect an American tradition. Are it not as equally important and not the right of human beings to start their own traditions? Is it not the right of human beings to live their lives free and equal and without influence or oppression from other traditions? America has witnessed several American traditions that do not represent the American idea and do not represent freedom. Slavery was an American tradition. So why did we not protect such tradition? The only tradition America should be trying to protect is that of the right of freedom, justice, equality, and the American dream. The right to live and let live. I must say though, proposing to ban same sex marriages was not to protect tradition. It was a deliberate attempt to place Christian values and beliefs over all other values and beliefs in this nation. Over the past few years I have watched the ideas of life, liberty, justice, equality, and the pursuit of happiness vanish from this nation. I have witnessed people becoming more and more accepting of the ideas that religion should run this nation and that the phrase in the constitution “separation of church and state” does not mean that religious beliefs should not be put into our constitution and forced upon all Americans.
For the first time in American history people are actually leaving America in search of America. I was talking to a friend of mine almost 5 years past now and he told me that he had meet someone and was very happy with his life but now had to seal his happiness and not have to worry about the government taking his happiness. He told me he was leaving America in search for a place where he would not be judged and treated fairly and equally. I didn’t understand then and thought that he was crazy for leaving America in search for America. But today I see more and more people doing so and I understand why. America no longer represents the American idea. America no longer represents freedom for all. People should be treated with respect and treated fairly and equally regardless of their beliefs and regardless of their sexual orientation. America doesn’t provide this and so it is only natural that people will leave this nation in search for America. Majority of my family are strong, southern, Christians. Matter of fact, I am the only atheist that I know of in my family. I love my family very dearly and will never do anything to restrict them from their faith and beliefs and never do anything to misrepresent them as a whole and individuals because they are my family and it the commonsense thing to do. I only expect the same from them. I expect this government to represent all Americans equally and not just the religious majority of this nation. America can not be the land of the free and the home of the brave yet deny thousands to millions of Americans the right to fair and equal protection and representation under the law. America cannot be the land of the free and the home of the brave yet deny thousands to millions of couples in the U.S. the right to marry who they will. What ever happened to the old phrase of “separation of church and state”? The U.S. government has no business going to the church to gather laws and ideas to force on all Americans by placing such ideas and church laws into federal, state, and local laws. It is time to end this oppression in this nation. Today we have Presidential candidates and other politicians stating and running on platforms saying that our constitution and laws should be amended to reflect the bible. Looking at this nation today I can’t help but to think back to when I was a child and think back to singing an old civil rights hymn in church, “oh freedom, oh freedom, oh freedom over me, and before I be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave, and go home to my lord and be free”. Today Americans abroad are not free. Today about 80% of Americans are slaves. I’m not talking about slaves in the sense of working against your will and for no money. I am not talking about slavery as in black slavery during early America. But the slavery I am talking about is just as bad. The slavery I am talking about causes thousands to millions of Americans in this nation to deny their true belief or absence of a belief. The slavery I am talking about causes thousands of people to remain secret about their sexual orientation. The type of slavery I am talking about causes thousands to millions of people’s lives in this nation and thousands to millions of people in this nation the inability to marry who they love and the right to pursue their happiness. You see, the type of slavery I am talking about is that of fear, religion, and lack of courage, knowledge, and motivation to fight for what is right in this world. The lack of knowledge, courage, and the will to fight for life, liberty, justice, equality, the pursuit of happiness, and the fair and equal representation from this government. Americans have stood around accepting hatred and prejudice behavior for so long, accepting the ignorance that religion is the only way to bring peace to the world, that toady majority of Americans believes that this nation should be built upon religion. Americans have grown to accept such ignorance in their hearts and so have become slaves to such ignorance, hatred, and prejudice. You see, a slave, a true slave, is someone who has all of their hope and desire for freedom taken away from them and someone who allows people and the government to deny them or others basic civil liberties. That is the way Americans are thinking today and that is why America is full of slaves. I tell you today though, I am no slave. I am no slave to prejudice, hatred, and ignorance that this government teaches to us everyday. I am no slave to the idea that religion should dictate the world even if it means denying thousands to millions of citizens in this world their basic and civil liberates. No America, I am no slave. I believe in the dream of freedom and the words of our founding fathers. I believe in the ideas of life, liberty, justice, equality, and the pursuit of happiness. I will not allow the religious community or anyone else rob me of this belief and hopes that this belief can someday free the world. It is my obligation to spread this belief to all of humanity and free Americans from their hatred, prejudice, and ignorance so America can be free. I have been in the service now for over two years and I heard from an old friend of mine just the other day who told me told that she was one of many Americans who had lost hope in America and could no longer find shelter from the religious oppression and prejudice in this nation. She told me that out of the less than 2, 000 members that were active in the Lions of America Organization before it was shutdown in 2006, over 1500 of those members felt the same way she does and also moved to another country. What has happened to this nation? I never knew that America was suppose to be the place where everyone is welcomed and will be treated fairly unless you’ll black, gay, or an atheist. You know, I hear all the time people telling me that America is still the greatest nation in the world and that there is no need to be concerned about America. Well I am concerned about America. I am concerned about America when politicians propose that the bible should dictate the laws and constitution of this nation and no one says anything against this proposal. I am concerned about America when the President proposes to ban same sex marriages and say it is all for tradition, who’s tradition, certainly not mine and certainly not all of Americans’. I am concerned for America when 49 out of 50 states ban same sex marriages. I am concerned for America when the State of Florida denies same sex couples the right to adopt a child. I am concerned for America when the phrase “In God We Trust” is on U.S. currency and the phrase “Under God” in the U.S. pledge to the flag. I am concerned for America when atheists nationwide are fired from their jobs after refusing to pray or just for being an atheist who teaches science or history. I am concerned about America when atheists and homosexuals are thrown from their homes and neighborhoods and forced to move because someone in the neighborhood feels it would be too difficult to explain homosexuality or atheism to their child. I am concerned for America when homosexuals in this nation are denied the right to walk down the streets holding hands but it goes unnoticed when heterosexual couples can walk down the streets holding hands. I am concerned for this nation when Americans look upon other Americans in disgust after learning they are a homosexual or even an atheist in then as a consequence end any affiliation with the person. Yes, I am very concerned about America. I must say that unless the fate of America is captured by the hearts and minds of those who believe in freedom and equality then America will never again be America. Unless young men and women in this nation take the streets in this fight for equality for all, America will no longer be America. Unless homosexuals in this nation let their sexual orientation known, and unless all atheists let their lack of beliefs known, then America will never again be America. The only way to seize the hatred and inequality in this nation is to take the streets and fight for equality even if it is unpopular or will cause you your job, home, or life. The only way to overcome to oppression in this nation is to fight for freedom. There are many people in America who says, “I am not gay or an atheist so why should I care, why should I fight for equality risking my life, and freedom. Because it is the right thing to do. Because it shows that the true America is not full of oppression and hated. Because it shows that true Americans that carry the American dream and idea in their heart will; not rest until all Americans and all of humanity can come together in peace and harmonay. I am not a homosexual, but just as I bid for equality in this nation when it comes to minorities, atheists, and minority religions, I too fight just as hard for equality in this nation when it comes to the homosexuals because it is the right thing to do. In conclusion, America has to stop being a slave of ignorance, hatred, and prejudice. It is time for America to break the chains of slavery and take the streets for this fight for equality. It is time for Americans who are setting on the couch hoping for a change to put some fuel behind that hope and take the streets for equality in this nation. America is no longer America. The only way to correct this tragedy and the only way to protect all citizens of this nation is to fight for equality and to let this tragedy be known. We have been quiet long enough. Now is the time to shout to this nation and the world, “equality will rest in America once more”.

The Collapse of the American Empire

-by, Marquell Garrett
-DATED: January 12, 2008



When I was a young boy and sitting in my fifth grade classroom at Douglas Elementary School, I was told by my social studies teacher that a country should represent and protect all of its people, common or not. I was told that the greatest nation in the world was no other nation but our own, The United States of America. I was told that only America was build upon the ideas of liberty and the foundation of the people. I was told that America represented more than just a nation. America represented the ideas of freedom and equality that we all should cheeriest dear to our hearts and share with the world. I remember then believing that this nation was perfect as I recited the pledge to the flag every morning followed by the song, My Country Tears of The. This country couldn’t have been any better. Of course I knew of the racism still practiced in some places of this country today, but I managed to somehow accept this and accept a lot of other things that were wrong in this nation. I am proud to say that at age fourteen I managed to overcome my ignorance and saw America through a clear seat of eyes. I may have worn glasses then, and my eye sight may have not been the greatest. However, I clearly saw America not as the land of the free and the home of the brave, not as the nation I had learned of as a child, not even as a free and peaceful nation. No America, I saw this nation as something more terrifying than anything else in the world. America had lost the dreams of freedom and was near total failure. America was becoming the collapsed Roman Empire. Today America is worst off, and truthfully I must say that the only thing that drives me to continue my fight for equality and freedom in this nation is the words of my fifth grade teacher. “America represents more than just a nation. America represents the ideas of freedom and equality that we all should cheeriest dear to our hearts and share with the world” It is those words that keeps me fighting although majority of America believes equality should be controlled by the majority of the people and the government. It was the words of my fifth grade teacher that kept me fighting for equality after witnessing a great friend of mine thrown from his home by his own community all because he had became an atheist. It is the words of my fifth grade teacher that kept me driving on for equality after hearing about multiple science and history educators fired from their positions after it was discovered they were atheists. It was the words of my fifth grade teacher that kept me fighting strong after the President and right wing conservatives proposed to limit the rights of human beings in this nation to marry who they love. It was the words of my fifth grade teacher that kept me trucking on after learning 49 out of 50 states have banned same sex marriages. It was the words of my fifth grade teacher that continued me on my fight for equality after hearing of a college boy who was brutally beaten and killed by two fellow college mates who were known to be homo-phobias and the college mates were given a mere two years of prison time. It is the words of my fifth grade teacher that keeps me going on after several rejections from the U.S. Supreme Court to hear cases of the unconstitutionality of the phases “In God We Trust” on our currency, and “Under God” in our pledge. It is the foundation of life, liberty, justice, equality, and the pursuit of happiness, foundations set forth by our founding fathers, that keep me fighting for this nation while many have given up. It is that very same foundation that shall set this nation free and spread equality across the world. Many ask me, “Why do you fight so vigorously time and time again after so many failures and no success”? I must smile at these people and say only this, the ideas of life, liberty, justice, equality, and the pursuit of happiness can never be conquered by ignorance and hatred. As long as I am alive I will dedicate my life to these principles and will never rest until America is once more the land I dreamed of and heard of when I was in the fifth grade. There should be and will be tough laws to judge those who beat and murder innocence human beings because they are homosexual or don’t share the same belief in a god that doesn’t exist in the first place. There should be and will be laws that will judge harshly those who deny the right of another to pursue their happiness, dreams, and a marriage with whom ever. There should be and will be laws that judge harshly those who discriminate against others and deny others the fair and equal protection and representation of this government. There should be and will be laws eliminating the right for employers to dismiss employees because they are gay or non believers. You may say that some of these laws exist. I am inclined to disagree. If the equal protection clause was authentic then we would not have all of the discrimination problems we have in this nation today. No! Laws will be passed that will be explicit on the subject and will be fully enforced all of the time. I was recently told by a reverend and an evangelist that this nation was founded by religious men and so it is just the attempt of this government to place some of our founding fathers’ convictions and values into this nation. I was disgusted by these comments. First off, not all of our founding fathers were religious. We forget quickly those who weren’t because it helps with the fight to deny the basic and equal rights and representation for all Americans by this government. Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the greatest of all of our founding fathers, who assisted Thomas Jefferson with the Declaration of Independence, and also played a major role in the writing of the U.S. Constitution, was an atheist who came to America to free himself from the cruel politics in England and in search for a new nation that would not judge him on his absence of a religion, rather instead offer him peace and a fair representation by the government. Thomas Paine, also an atheist, wrote the famous Common Sense and Age of Reason. The fact is atheists played a major role in the building of this nation but is greatly disrespected today. A nation that is built by majority Christians does not make the nation a Christian nation. The ideas and values that our founding fathers wanted to show in this nation was the values of life, liberty, justice, equality, and the pursuit of happiness that was not to be challenged by the government or the majority of people. It was a right that all human beings have and religion should not be inserted in a nation and government. It sickens me to walk into a schoolhouse today and think I am in a church. Our children are being taught by this government and our school system that this is a Christian nation and that the fair and equal representation of all people by this government doesn’t matter. America has lost the dream and pride of freedom. We are so concerned today with teaching our kids about religion that we have failed to teach them about the true meaning of this government and failed to teach them things such as science. The United States is amongst the last ranking nations in the world in terms of science because we would rather teach religion in the classrooms instead of leaving that up to the parents and churches. Instead of calling them schoolhouses it should as well be called church houses. My brother asked my little niece, who is currently leaning about the constitution and this government, who was one person from the state of South Carolina that signed the U.S. Constitution. My niece failed to answer this question correctly because the state of South Carolina, and the federal government had failed to teach this to her. It seems that the school has now instituted an after school program that teaches the kids about Christianity and the bible. This program is not cheap and is financed by the school yet the school refuses to fund a field trip to Washington DC and a field trip to the Planetary which will both cause less than the bible study program. The fact is the public school system in America has collapsed much like the rest of America because of the fear of the growing number of nonbelievers in this nation and the prejudice and hatred toward atheists in this nation. There is still hope though, America. I will not give up on this fight yet. I will fight for change in this nation one community at a time even if it means my death. I will spread the ideas of life, liberty, justice, equality, and the pursuit of happiness to others and long after my death the fight will continue for equality in this nation. The day will come when their will be peace in this nation and two gay men or lesbian women can walk into a court room as lovers and walk out as a legal and committed couple. It is very hypocritical of this government to stand up and speak so strongly against the poor treatment and representation of Christians in Islamic dominate nations but say nothing about the way this nation ignores, mistreats, and disrespects the nonbelievers in this nation. It is very hypocritical the way this country stand up and speak so loudly against the treatment of women in some Islamic dominate nations all because some Islamic faiths requiring women to act and dress a certain way yet says nothing when the President of this nation vows to deny homosexuals the right to marry because it is nontraditional and ill moral according to his religious belief. I am asked by so many people what gives me the right to act out against the current trend of this nation and the Christians in this nation. It is my natural right and instinct to defend myself. I have sat around and done nothing for far too long. I sat around and done nothing after a young man was brutally beaten because he was gay. I sat around and done nothing while many educators was fired from their jobs because they were atheists. I sat around and done nothing while nonbelievers in this nation were denied the fair and equal representation of this government. I will not sit around and do nothing anymore. I am up and on my feet. This was for equality in America has begun and I am prepared for battle. There is no need for America to be surprised now. It is no surprise that a dog will bite you eventually if you house it with other dogs but ignore it and treat other dogs with more respect than it. There are people in this nation that say there is a religious revolution coming in this nation. There is a religious revolution coming to this nation. But the religious revolution in this nation is not of what this nation is expecting. This religious revolution is a revolution of nonbelievers and non Christians standing up with one voice and saying “this is not a Christian nation.” “The nonbelievers and non Christians in this nation will be equality represented and protected by this government.” “This government was created by the people and for all people and not just the majority.” I am told that I shouldn’t preach for people to revolt against the oppression in the nation and to revolt against the Christians in this nation. I am told that this will upset this nation and cause an imbalance. I must continue to laugh at those who tell me this. There is already an imbalance in this nation. When the nonbelievers in this nation are forced to spend currency that reads In God We Trust, there is an imbalance in this nation. When the pledge to this nation’s flag reads Under God, there is an imbalance in this nation. When our government officials and majority of states proposes and ban same sex marriages, there is an imbalance in this nation. When our government says that homosexual couples should not be allowed to adopt a child because it may bring confusion to the child although all statistics and studies show the opposite, there is an imbalance in this nation. When America denies life, liberty, justice, equality, and the pursuit of happiness to innocent American citizens yet preach about democracy world wide, there is an imbalance in this nation. When the majority of America shout that this is a Christian nation just because majority of our founding fathers were Christians, there is an imbalance in this nation. I preach to correct this imbalance. I preached to save and rebuild the collapsed American Empire. I preach to restore the ideas of life, liberty, justice, equality, and the pursuit of happiness back into the hearts and minds of all Americans and to restore freedom to the land of America once more. In conclusion, as long as there is one person in America that believes America’s foundation should be life, liberty, justice, equality, and the pursuit of happiness then there is still a chance that America might be saved. I will not discontinue my fight for equality in America. This nation is full of hatred, fear, and ignorance; but with the ideas of life, liberty, justice, equality, and the pursuit of happiness, this nation can be restored once more to freedom. The flame of the American spirit has burned out. I will reignite that flame and carry the dream and pride of America to our future, the children of the world.

America Now

-by, Marquell Garrett
-DATE: October 13, 2007


What does the word America means? I will tell you what America use to be. America use to be a place free from religious persecution and a place of equality and opportunity where everyone was welcomed. Is that America now? America use to be a place where the individuals had majority of the power, followed by the States, then lastly the federal government. The government, both State and federal had a system of checks and balances and the people always held a close eye on the government to prevent the government from acting in matters that are not at best interests of the people. America now has given the government too much authority and has traded in the dream of freedom for the nightmare of chaos. I ask, how long are we going to pretend that things are under control and that things are so great? I ask, how long are we going to ignore the basic bill of rights, civil rights, and equal rights of the atheists and homosexuals in this nation? I ask, how long are we going to pretend that this place we call America is still the dream and life of freedom? In New York City there lies a view of a great and powerful symbol that we call the Statue of Liberty. Is this a statue of liberty, or is it a statue of slavery to the cancer of racism, prejudice, and inequality that we allow to eat at our society today. I’m afraid America has allowed the torch of freedom to burn out and now we are left only with the ashes and memories of the great nation we once were.
Today, America has chosen to allow its prejudice and fear of indifference to overcome the beauty of America. Today, America teaches the future of America, the American children, that it is ill moral and wrong to be a homosexual and ok to deny homosexuals the same civil and equal rights as everyone else. This is a very dangerous thing to do. We are instilling hatred and prejudice into the hearts of our children and so by default we are insuring the destruction of this nation we call America. America is no longer the land of the free because America is no longer free. America has become convinced that homosexuality is ill moral and that same sex marriages are unethical and should not be allowed under any circumstances within the United States of America. Remaining of our once great nation, lie a nation full of all of the hopes and dreams America use to portray. Canada allows same sex marriages and believes that what a person wishes to commit to is his’ or hers’ right. Why is it that Canada understands how things should be yet the United States of America, “the leader of the free world” is blinded by religious convictions and believe that same sex marriages are ill moral? What ever happened to Separation of Church and State? What ever happened to an individual’s rights far out weighing the rights of the government? Why is it that for the first time in the history of the U.S., the United States is proposing to limit individual’s rights? The bigger question though is why aren’t everyone as out raged on the subject as I. The fact is that society today is not the same society during the times of our founding fathers. Society no longer is concern about individual privacy and bill of rights; they would rather have an illusion of security. Society no longer cares about being free and equal; they would rather force what they believe to be right at the time, onto all Americans through the laws of the land. This is outrageous. A person surely has the right to disagree with laws and ways of living due to their own personal or religious beliefs. A person do not have the right to tell others by the law that they cannot live a certain way, although that certain way harms no one else in retrospect. America has every right to disagree with homosexual lifestyles. America has no right to ban same sex marriages, and ban same sex couples from adopting a child. To ban same sex marriages is to say it is ok to marry a member of the opposite sex because it places no harm on others and is popular, but then say it is not ok to marry a member of the same sex because it is not as popular as opposite sex marriages and it is different. This is unacceptable and as ignorant as it was to say that blacks can’t marry whites because it is different and ill moral. However, America is so blinded by their hate and prejudice that they fail to realize the danger in their attitude and gestures toward American homosexuals. It is outrages to allow single parents the right to adopt a child then deny and couple the right to adopt a child based on their sexual preference. What I am getting at here is that statistics shows that couples tend to raise children better than single parents. Statistics also shows that same sex couples tend to raise a child just as well or better than any other couple. So with this being said, what grounds do you have for the same sex couples not adopting? Many States have now passed laws allowing same sex couples to adopt but there are still a few States that will not allow such actions. Such States, in my opinion, should be brought in front of the courts and sued for denying the fair and equal protection under the law to so many great American couples. Many people discover that their life long pal is gay and all of a sudden no longer wishes to be affiliated with him or her. This is a very ignorant thing to do. They are still the same people as you knew before hand. Being a homosexual does not change the person at all. Parents are going around teaching their kids that being a homosexual is wrong and ill moral. Parents are essentially going around teaching their kids to hate homosexuals and harming the future of America and the world. America should not be teaching their kids to hate what is different. America should not be teaching their kids that things that are hard to understand, and things that are different are ill moral. Yet here we are today, living in an America that teaches our children hate and we treat the different with lack of respect and ill morally. At some point you have to ask yourself, who are the monsters? Who lives in the evil part of society and who teaches ill morals and bad ethics? Is it the homosexuals, or is it the American society? Many people try to say that homosexuality is ill moral because the bible and the church are against such lifestyles. I tell you today that religion is not suppose to have any jurisdiction in the American government. This government was created by the people, for the people; this government was not created by God for God. This brings me to my next point. Since when is it ok to represent a free nation, that was created for the people by the people, with a religions gesture or a religious symbol.
Atheists are constantly misrepresented in this nation and constantly denied fair and equal protection under the law. The pledge to the flag of this nation represents the religious community in this nation but fails to represent the nonreligious community, thus, the pledge to the flag fails to represent America. In God We Trust is imprinted on every dollar Americans spend daily. What is this suppose to say about America? I tell you America, the imprint In God We Trust says a lot more about America than America think it does. In God We Trust says America is not concerned with the rights of the non believer. It says that we as a nation are no longer concerned about representing all Americans. It says that this nation has become polluted and over ran with religion, which is what our founding fathers were trying to prevent over 200 years ago. Why is it that America is still struggling with the issue of separation from church and state? It is the responsibility of this nation to keep the religious world out of the world of government and order. We as a nation pretend that it is ok to have the religious majority running this government but in all actuality this nation has been at its best, on the terms of freedom and equality, when this nation was governed by the people. Let’s no make any mistake about this, the religious majority only is concerned with correcting things according to their religion and not looking at what the individual people want. It is time to take back this government and for this government to once again understand what it means to fear the people. Malcolm-X once said, “We’ve never experienced the American dream, we have only experienced the American nightmare”. I’m afraid today that nightmare has grown more terrifying than ever and is now apart of reality. Atheists are the largest group of people to be ignored world wide. In 2002 there were over 800 million nonbelievers world wide that were openly nonbelievers. Because of the negative stigma and prejudice that comes along with being an atheist, many nonbelievers choose to remain secret. That means that there was most likely over one billion nonbelievers world wide in 2002 and all censuses and statistics indicates that there are over 2 billion nonbelievers world wide today. Majority of the prison population world wide are majority filled with theists, in fact, less than one percent of the prison population world wide are atheists. Out of all group of people, atheists have the lowest divorce rate and lowest suicide rate. Atheists are not bad people. We will not be denied our basic civil liberties and we will not be ignored. The United States is the worst nation to deny atheists their basic civil rights. It is very hypercritical to say that a phrase involving the word “God” must be removed from a State Court House but then say it is ok for the words “Under God” to remain in our pledge to the American Flag, and ok for the words, “In God We Trust” to remain on our currency. That is what America is doing now. The rest of the world have their prejudice and discrimination against nonbelievers that must be stopped and crushed right away, but the United Stated is the worst and should be held to higher standers. For it is the United States that is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. America has the highest population of atheists who are in prison. Perhaps this says more about America, than it does about atheists. It’s time for America to save itself and rid this nation of all the prejudice and hateful feelings toward nonbelievers and stop denying atheists their basic civil rights.
Pat Robinson said the Christians have enough votes to take over this nation and that when the people have had enough, they will take over. I am telling that Pat Robinson today that the people have had enough. The atheists in this nation will not stand for such discrimination and will not stand around while the Christians force their religious ways onto the nonbelievers. In conclusion, I did not break free from the chains of religion only to be chained again by religious fanatics. Atheists are not going to be pushed around anymore so you have better come ready for a fight America, because the nonbelievers will not give up their civil rights for religious ways and convictions. The phrase” Under God” is coming from this nation’s pledge to the flag. The phrase “In God We Trust” is coming off of the U.S. Currency. The words, “God save the Supreme Court”, will not be recited as the opening of court cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. All religious gestures and phrases will be removed from every court house in this nation. I am telling you today America, the war for equality has just began, and the atheists in this nation are ready to fight for their freedom so I hope you are ready to fight to deny us that freedom, or prepared to surrender us our freedom and equality. With this being said, this war for equality will not just end or begin with the atheists’ rights. There will be a constitutional amendment that will clarify the basic civil rights and liberties of homosexuals in this nation including their right to adopt and their right to marry. It is unacceptable to deny any American their basic civil liberties. Atheists and homosexuals have been denied their civil rights for far too long, the war has now begun, and this is a war that will be a victory for America because America will return to the old dreams and values of freedom and equality. Atheists, homosexuals, and all Americans will be treated with respect and equality with equal protection under the law. My message to all of the religious community who wishes to push their faith onto all Americans, the war for equality has began once again and the homosexuals and atheists are ready to fight for their civil liberties and so I hope you are ready to fight to deny the homosexuals and the nonbelievers their civil liberties or prepared to surrender them their civil liberties.