There’s a hoax email going around about an atheist who files a discrimination suit because religious people have all sorts of cool holidays and atheists don’t have any. The fictional judge says that atheists have April Fool’s Day, quoting Psalms: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'”
John Wilkins thinks we may be onto something here:
Though this is legally and constitutionally false, and the judge would immediately be censured by a higher court, I actually think it has a germ of a good idea.
Let’s celebrate the foolishness of religious beliefs on April Fool’s Day. If you happen to be religious, celebrate the foolishness of all other religions that day. If you are agnostic, celebrate the foolishness of definite opinions about Gods. If you are Catholic, celebrate the foolishness of Protestants. If Protestant, of Catholics. Sunnis can celebrate the foolishness of Shiites, and vice versa. Mormons can celebrate the foolishness of all Christian religions, and everybody (I mean everybody) can celebrate the inane gawking train wreck stupidity of Scientology.
What a great idea! I know what I believe, and I’m certain that my beliefs are correct. For one day, each of us could revel shamelessly in our certainty, knowing that anyone who believes differently is some kind of idiot, at best.
Every other day of the year, while still feeling secure in our own beliefs, we’d have to accept other people and their right to their beliefs.
That could change everything.
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