Social justice book reviews
As someone who is hoping for a brighter and fairer future for my country, I found hope and reassurance in watching the inauguration of our new President and Vice President, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. But as someone who is not religious, and who knows all too well the harms of Christian Nationalism, I also found division and exclusionary language.
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When I started blogging four years ago, I felt like it was popular among atheist content creators to write posts or make videos about why they celebrate Christmas even though they don’t believe in Jesus. It felt almost obligatory to explain that one enjoyed all the fun of the holidays without acknowledging “the reason for the season”.
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Twenty-sixteen was the first year that I was old enough to vote in a US presidential election, and I didn’t vote. I was living at college an hour away from home and my polling location. I hadn’t paid close enough attention to the deadline to request an absentee ballot, and I don’t think I even checked to be sure I was still registered. (I believe I was registered as a Republican at the time because I thought I was supposed to be, not like I knew what that meant.) Like many people, I didn’t like either of the candidates. I didn’t have much motivation to choose, and I didn’t understand why voting third party is ineffective.
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Even though I attended conservative Christian Grove City College for four years, I have done my best since graduating in 2018 to avoid most things conservative, most things Christian, and all things Grove City College. Likewise, although I have written blog posts criticizing the detestable views of the champion of bigotry Matt Walsh in the past, I’ve since decided that responding to him any further was below me and a waste of time. I’m giving this rule an exception today. The presence of Matt Walsh at Grove City College this past Thursday, giving his usual presentation on “The War on Reality: Why the Left Has Set Out to Redefine Life, Gender, and Marriage,” taunted me to the point that I couldn’t help but watch.
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I’d like to start this post off by asking that you read it in its entirety before commenting or passing judgment.
Now that that’s out of the way: This post is not going to be about the morality of actually getting an abortion. I personally believe in a woman’s right to choose what is best for her, her body, and her family. I’ve written a post before that only broke the ice on why I am pro-choice, and my sources there go into way more depth. That’s why I will just refer you to those (here, here, and here) instead of repeating their points either in this post or my last.
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I wish that I could rejoice in the fact that today, I write my first ever blog post reviewing a book by a woman, but after reading it, I feel as though there is little to be joyful for. Don’t get me wrong, I truly believe that it would be greatly beneficial for the future of America (and the rest of the world) if everyone read The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, but at the same time I felt that it was deeply disturbing.
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Yes, all lives matter.
So why, in that case, does saying so offend so many so deeply?
Since the Black Lives Matter movement began at the hands of three powerful Black women in 2013, it has been criticized for its exclusivity. “What about white lives? Asian lives? Mexican, Russian, Indigenous lives? Don’t they matter?” people say. To this, those three women, and the global network that has since grown out of their movement, would say yes, of course. All lives matter.
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A few months ago, I wrote a rave review of one of my now-favorite books, Andrew Seidel’s The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American. Being such a fan of the book, and being in agreement with so many of Seidel’s ideas, you can imagine how excited I was last October when I learned that I could meet him on his book tour in April!
Of course, his lecture with the Pittsburgh Freethought Community has been not canceled but sadly postponed for obvious reasons. As the PFC’s marketing chair, I had excitedly but prematurely drafted an advertisement for Seidel’s visit. For now, though, I will stash away my excitement for the day when Seidel finally makes it to Pittsburgh and instead share with you 36 of my personal favorite quotes from his brilliant book.
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This week I finished Andrew Seidel’s book The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American. As is my custom, that means it’s time for a book review! I’m particularly excited about this one, because The Founding Myth is one of the few books that I have rated as five stars on Goodreads—and it’s one the most highly rated books on my whole shelf!
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Thanks to Andrew Seidel’s book The Founding Myth, I have spent the last few weeks more perturbed than usual about the mixing of church and state. It’s always bothered me, but this book, and a few other factors, have started to really make me angry that the Constitution is so frequently broken by people who are trying to rewrite American history into something that it isn’t.
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