(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Thermal Thursday: Theist, Nontheist, Atheist: Where We All Agree [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-23 Since this is Street Prophets Coffee Hour, and thermal for the warmth of a good cup of coffee or your preferred beverage, as well as the warmth of a more progressive religion and community, grab a cuppa and a seat! Please follow #ThermalThursday! And feel free to share what you’re drinking (or eating) in the Comments, if you’re so inclined. This is also an Open Thread for you to connect. Today’s Topic: Apologies for the long intro. Now let’s turn to those areas where I believe that we all agree. By “we all,” of course, I mean all of us on this blog. Liberals, progressives, however you self identify. Not what passes for conservatives these days nor authoritarians, who all seem to have fallen into an alternate universe. Because if they were aware of reality, they would agree with us.;-) Here are some areas of agreement. This is assuredly only a partial list, so please feel free to add more in the Comments: 1) The only proper government is a secular government. Religious governments have always ended up oppressive and/or violent, as far as I can determine. Whilst it is theoretically possible to have a benign theocratic government — with love toward all others, help for the poor and sick, universal compassion and support for human rights — this never seems to have happened. The least controversial theocracies seem to be small ones formed for a particular religious purpose, such as Vatican City or Mount Athos. We in the US have had almost 250 years of secular government, it has worked well, we need to continue and protect what we have. 2) Some current problems with religious extremists in US and state governments: Oppression of women including interference with medical care, oppression of LGBTQ+ peoples, restrictive education decisions, lack of access to birth control. 3) This one may be slightly more controversial: Churches should not be exempt from taxes. No one should be forced to support churches with which they disagree, which is the indirect effect of tax exemptions. If you disagree with this point, please explain in Comments how favourable treatment does not equate to government support for religion. The part of the church mission that is the same as other charities, such as daycare and services for the poor, could be tax deductible identically to those types of charities. These areas of agreement, I think, are partly why the last week or so, with community diaries pro- and anti-religion, has been so fraught. Because really, we none of us like the direction parts of this country are going, we are scared of sliding into theocracy, and we are frustrated that more isn’t done to fight the slide. What other areas of agreement do we have? Please feel free to add to this list in the Comments. Deep breath. We’re all on the same side here. (h/t njm5000) Finally as always, let’s elevate our Community Cred and repost The Needs List — with some hopeful updates! From Aashirs nani (with permission) on Helping Humpday: PLEASE NOTE: When sending via PayPal, be sure to select “Send to family/friend” to avoid fees on either end. Be aware, both donor and recipient, that GFM not only charges fees, but also money received through that platform is treated as taxable income. If you are requesting help through GFM, also be aware that there can be delays in accessing the money. COMMUNITY NEEDS LIST AS OF 2/22/23: Note also that Chef Bobby Neary, “@nuevopioneer,” has passed away. We will continue to post his favourite charity to honour him — please consider a donation to the Satos, the street pets of Puerto Rico! Bobby adopted his own Sato, Missilu, as well as raised funds for PR’s Satos. Additionally, please note also from An’s diary yesterday: Community needs... sometimes the need is too great or the help available falls short, even when money isn’t the (only) problem. We’ve lost too many of our community who left us too soon because of poverty. Maureen Mower couldn’t get life-saving treatment until her housing situation stabilized. Bobby Neary wasn’t diagnosed in time to treat his cancer, and treatment wasn’t available anyway with the resources he had. Jan Burch was afraid to call an ambulance because of the cost on top of bills already amassed, and she died alone and in pain. This weekend it was Harper Willson (aitchdee). If anyone has further details regarding Harper Wilson’s demise, and continuing care for her pets, please let us know in Comments. I’m in for a mickle each week toward a variety of DKos members on the Needs List. I hope you’ll join me. Always glad to see the needed amounts gradually decreasing! If helping financially isn’t the right choice for you at this time, you can still help. Tip and rec the diary so it stays visible. Share on social media: Twitter, Facebook, whatever platform you use, to bring the attention of others outside our daily readers. And offer words of encouragement to people who are struggling. It can be scary to be struggling, and it can feel lonely. Let them know we understand and are here to help. If you have time, please visit the diaries above and leave comments for their authors. Those words of encouragement are vital! If you don’t like fundraisers, please just move along. They are a longstanding tradition at DKos — Until we vote in enough progressives to create a much stronger social safety net! (Maybe in 2 years.) [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/23/2154614/-Thermal-Thursday-Theist-Nontheist-Atheist-Where-We-All-Agree Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/