Report on MAAF participation in AA convention - Apr 04

The following is a report of the MAAF meeting at the American Atheists 30th Convention, April 04, in San Diego, California.

Although the numbers were somewhat small and time was extremely limited, the MAAF meeting was able to address some important issues.

Out of all the topics that were mentioned and proposed by members on the list prior to the convention, attendees of the conventions MAAF meeting agreed that the number one priority of MAAF should be Visibility and education; done through advertising and getting exposure.

The various military “Times” newspapers should be used for ads, letter writing, sending press releases, etc.

That MAAF needs test cases to set precedents.

That in addition to having a list of who our “Atheists in Foxholes” are, we should know who and be prepared to present who are combat veterans in order to stamp out the theist argument that we are lying and really don’t have anyone who was ever in combat. At the same time we must also state that it is insulting/unpatriotic/immoral/etc of the theists to delegitimize the sacrifices that all Atheist service members make and the hazards we have faced, as well as their immoral attempt to falsely portray what an Atheist and Atheist in a Foxhole is. We should shame them to no end while putting them in their place. The general feeling was that combat vets could be something like our celebrity Foxhole Atheists to counter theist claims, but maintaining that all military Atheists deserve credit for their service and sacrifices and that it is disgraceful and lowly of theists to try and rob them of the credit they deserve and slander their names and honor with faith based lies.
All agreed on other subjects discussed, such as removing prayers and benedictions from all military ceremonies, and that MAAF needs to continue this discussion and establish a prioritized list of goals and plans for each.

-Chad Hetman