06/09/2024
Melina Cohen, writing at American Atheists, a network of freethinkers in the States, has outlined the agenda of far right, religious fundamentalist and neo-fascist groups in the US to dismantle democracy and takeover the executive and judicial branches of the government by stuffing them with right wing sympathisers. Melina writes "(We know) how dangerous it can be for an executive branch to target political opponents with investigations and stifle them with litigation under the guise of national security. It’s happened here before—from the House Un-American Activities Committee to COINTELPRO to the USA Patriot Act. Now, we’re seeing it again in proposals to reform civil service and tax codes. Could a Christian nationalist revolution really be this… boring? Yes, though when you understand the implications for atheists, in particular, it’s anything but. It’s why American Atheists has joined a new coalition sponsored by Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA), the co-chair of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, to defend democracy and our constitutional rights against Project 2025, a Christian nationalist playbook to dismantle the U.S. government. Among its 900 pages is a plan to reinstate “Schedule F” (the topic of last week’s episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver) and classify 50,000 federal jobs as “policy-related.” Doing so would deny legal protections to government employees with issue expertise, making them liable to be terminated at will and replaced with unqualified and unquestioning loyalists from the rightwing Presidential Personnel Database". Melina warns "It’s not without precedent. Five-term prime minister Viktor Orbán transitioned Hungary from a democracy to an “illiberal Christian” state the European parliament considers an “electoral autocracy.” Besides installing yes-men in government roles, Orbán cracked down on nongovernmental organizations. We’re seeing that now, too, in a bill that passed the House with overwhelming support this Tax Day and that The New Republic described as “so boring it escaped most people’s attention” "Such a substantial erosion of our First Amendment rights isn’t as big a stretch as one might like to think: Members of Congress have already waged a years-long smear campaign against our partners at Humanists International for “promoting atheism.” Dozens of public officials have called for media outlets to be investigated and prosecuted. Lawmakers across the country are passing legislation to criminalize civil disobedience, and we’ve already seen protestors charged with domestic terrorism and felony obstruction. This oppressive oversight could arrive at a time when nonprofits are already facing a number of challenges: Employees and volunteers are burnt out and being harassed. Operational costs are growing while charitable giving is on the decline. And while it’s true not all nonprofits are good actors, there are evidence-based solutions that could combat malfeasance without inhibiting free speech, press, protest, and the increasingly vital work of nonprofit organizations". For more information on the coalition of groups that are coming together to fight the far right, please visit https://www.atheists.org/
