WI atheist blames many for his woes; Senator and others refute claims - Part 6

November 2, 7:12 AMAtheism ExaminerTrina Hoaks

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"Atheist despising" Wisconsinites

In addition to claiming that his former attorney despises atheists, Mr. Flowers claims that many of the people in his area do. He is convinced that this is why no one is willing to help him. (That and the "fact," according to Mr. Flowers, that they fear Attornery Miron.) The way he sees it, the people of Marinette County would be happy to see him and his atheism removed from the area.

It's no secret that there is some animosity between atheists and theists in Wisconsin. The big sticker in residents' sides, of course, is that the national headquarters for the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is in Madison, Wisconsin. FFRF is, as the group states on its Web site, "a national association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics)." And, FFRF does not take kindly to what they deem to be church/state separation violations.

Christians, on the other hand, are quite fond of their Christmas-time nativity scenes and some of them like to display them on government property. FFRF, being the church/state separation watchdog it is, is not amused by what it considers to be constitutional violations such as government supported and sponsored religious holiday displays. They believe this is a form of government promotion of a particular religion. They see this as a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment - "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

A couple of years ago, the mayor of a town in Marinette County was less than thrilled by FFRF's interest in his town's nativity scene. That town is Peshtigo. (You may recall earlier mention of this town. It is the town for which Mr. Flowers' former attorney is the appointed city attorney.)

Co-president of FFRF, Dan Barker, wrote a letter to Peshtigo's Mayor Tom Strouf. In the letter, Barker said, "It is unlawful for the City of Peshtigo, a secular government, to maintain, erect or host a display that consists solely of a nativity scene, thus singling out, showing preference for and endorsing one religion, and commemorating its most holy day. Compounding this is the tax money spent in illuminating this religious scene on public property."

Strouf's answer to this was to declare that he would pay the bill. He wrote a letter to FFRF about this matter. The letter said:

I want to thank you for your letter concerning the Nativity Scene at the city park. First of all, I’ve only been the Mayor for one and a half years, and didn’t realize that the money for electricity is paid by the taxpayers (which comes out of the city’s taxes.) Secondly, I suppose that because I’m a Christian, it did not occur to me that the manger scene could offend someone that did not worship. Again, I want to sincerely thank you for bringing this to my attention.

You requested that I respond immediately about the steps I will be taking. I’ve been thinking of how it would be possible for me to give a Christmas present to every taxpayer in the city. I believe God works in mysterious ways, and from reading your letter it confirms my belief. What better way can I give back to the taxpayers than paying for the electrical bill myself? I’ve already instructed the City Clerk to give me the bill when it is due in January. (John 3:16) ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.’ Wow! I guess that makes my gesture kind of insignificant, doesn’t it?

Have a very Merry Christmas, and may God Bless you.

As a show of solidarity and to spite FFRF, the city of Green Bay, led by City Council president Chad Fradette, put a creche on an overhang at the entrance of Green Bay City Hall. He reportedly "got the idea after seeing news reports that the Freedom From Religion foundation (sic) is considering suing the City of Peshtigo over a Nativity scene in a city park."

Fradette said, "So now the Freedom From Religion Foundation can pick on somebody a little larger than Peshtigo." He went on to add, "I'm trying to take this fight to the people who need to be fought. I'll keep going on this until this group imposing Madison values crawls back into its hole and never crawls out."

In response, FFRF filed a lawsuit against the City of Green Bay, Chad Fradette, and Green Bay's mayor Jim Schmitt on December 26, 2007. In the complaint it was stated, "Public and private communications by the Defendants reflect their intent to provoke and marginalize persons who do not share their views regarding the public display and promotion of religion by the City."

In a press release issued by FFRF about the suit, it was said "[t}he legal complaint spells out the chronology of the Green Bay violation, which involved the Council president vowing to place a nativity scene at city hall because the Foundation had complained about an unlawful nativity display in Peshtigo, Wis." It stated, "'Council President Fradette deliberately used his public office to place an inherently Christian symbol prominently on government property at the entrance to City Hall, the principal location of local government, rather than on his private property, precisely in order to antagonize, offend and challenge those persons who object to the public sponsorship of religious symbols on public property.'"

In January of 2009, FFRF declared a win and "dropped its appeal before the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Jan. 13, 2009, since no religious displays were permitted by the City of Green Bay, Wis., in December 2008. The Foundation is prepared to go back to court if abuses recur."

Meanwhile, in December of 2008, FFRF filed suit against the Wisconsin County of Manitowoc "over its 'provocative and divisive' prominent display every December since 1946 of a nativity scene bearing the words 'Glory to God in the Highest' on its courthouse lawn."

The legal complaint stated, "When the County displays a Nativity scene on the Courthouse grounds, close to the entrance and in a prominent position, it places the imprimatur of the County government behind the Christian religious doctrine, to the exclusion of citizens who are not Christian, such as Jews, Native American practitioners, Muslims, animists, etc., as well as the significant and growing portion of the United States population that is not religious at all."

It should be pointed out that when FFRF takes this sort of action, they do so on behalf of residents of a given area (not all of them are atheists). With this in mind, it seems clear that there are atheists in Wisconsin and that not all Wisconsinites despise atheists. (That would be an awful lot of self-loathing.) It may be worth noting, however, that the state is reportedly 85% Christian.

Considering the lawsuits and battles that go on in Wisconsin pitting atheists against Christians, does that necessarily mean that there is any validity to Mr. Flowers' contention that because he is an atheist he is being persecuted and denied the help he believes he needs and deserves?

If it is invalid, what would it take to convince Mr. Flowers? Could anything convince him? After all, he is still convinced that his former attorney and insurance company are guilty of wrong doing even though those in positions to make such determinations have told Mr. Flowers repeatedly that his claims are without merit.

Is there anyone who can convince Mr. Flowers that he alone is responsible for his situation? At this point, it seems doubtful.