The
AAI Convention 2007 offered an
outstanding roster of speakers and was an occasion too good to miss. For
me the trip to Washington in September was my first chance to hear Richard Dawkins speak in person. He tops
my list of contemporary outspoken intellects on the subject of Atheism,
Anti-theism, Secular Humanism or whatever label is applied to non-belief
in anything supernatural.
There was extremely intense
security in the hotel. Participants were subjected to body searches and
bomb sniffing dogs cleared the space before people were allowed to enter
the meeting room for presentations. The A-list of Atheist speakers were
the targets of those who are willing to harm others, justifying murder and
violence as having some sacred validity conferred on their actions by Iron
Age tribal religions.
Dawkins,
Dennett, Hitchens
and Harris
are proclaimed as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse heralding the end of
religious influence on societies. There are many strong voices striving
through reasoned argument towards the goal of intellectual freedom hoping
that soon religion will be marginalized everywhere. Ayaan
Hirsi Ali
puts her life on the line daily working tirelessly to enrich and
enlighten, raising public awareness about the dangers that the continued
protection of Iron Age belief poses to all cultures.
Julia
Sweeney introduced Dawkins at the convention Awards Banquet and
as I listened to her describe the sheer panic and fear she felt prior to
her first meeting with Dawkins, it struck a chord with me as that was
exactly my feeling too. My impression of Dawkins is that he seems tuned in
to everything happening around him, listening and observing and no doubt
making mental notes for future comments. The man tirelessly signed books
and spoke to people throughout the weekend while never displaying fatigue
and always being approachable. That takes stamina!
2007
was for me an exciting year as prior to attending the AAI Convention I had
the opportunity to hear Hitchens
and Sharpton
at the New York Public Library in May when ‘god is not Great, How
Religion Poisons Everything’ was launched. Hirsi Ali was there too and I
made a point of thanking her for her courage in fighting for Islamic
women’s freedom. I did tell her about my participation in the protest
against the implementation of sharia law in Ontario and that we won our
battle on that small front. (That's me
pointing an accusatory finger at a misogynist proponent of Sharia.)
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