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AMERICAN ATHEISTS ACTION ALERT
January 13, 2004

NPR's SCOTT SIMON DESERVES OUR THANKS FOR A
SENSITIVE AND COURAGEOUS SEGMENT ON ATHEISTS IN AMERICA!

In a January 10, 2004 commentary, National Public Radio host
Scott Simoni ("Weekend Edition") discussed the status of Atheists
and other nonbelievers in America.

It was an insightful, sensitive and courageous piece. Simon began
with lighthearted humor, and stated that according to the 1999
Gallup poll, only 4/10ths of 1% of Americans said that they were
Atheists. That figure is likely low. But Mr. Simon added that
while we are a segment of Americans who do not believe in a God,
"They (Atheists) believe in family, country, working hard,
being fair and kind in the same proportion as any other group of
people, including religious ones..."

Simon added that "Politics is sounding awfully godly at the
moment," with many voters incorrectly identifying publicly
religious as a qualification for a candidate.

"But in this time in candidates are often exquisitely careful to
salute every possible demographic group from the unborn to
prescription drug care dependent seniors in fixed incomes" Mr.
Simon observed, "it might be refreshing for a candidate to
acknowledge atheists."

We agree. And we think Mr. Simon deserves our thanks for airing
such an astute piece which acknowledges Atheists and
others-of-no-faith as members of the American polity. Visit
http://www.atheists.org/action/alert-12-jan-2004.html for more
information on this campaign!

You can hear Mr. Simon's commentary on the NPR web site at
http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfid=1592243 Look for
"Scott Simon Essay: American Atheists." You may also order a
transcript.