I Dream of an Atheist President
I dream of an atheist president
A president who stands up for policies that are sound, evidence-based
A president who recognizes that most things are multi-sided
A president who represents a growing population of unaffiliated, etc.
Is it too much to ask for (a)religious diversity in representation?
1st grade, my earliest memory of a presidential election
All the children sitting in a common room, heads craned
Watching a blocky television on a stand
As the winner takes an oath, I wonder, can I ever be president?
Little did I know, I would be twice cursed: woman and atheist
I dream of an atheist president
A president who embraces community
Community that mishes and mashes values, practices, schools of thought
Community that needs leadership, yearns for leadership (don’t we all)
Because we are deeply unique, each a life
9th grade, 9/11, a country in rageful mourning
Flags everywhere; “in God we trust” everywhere
I was a fervently patriotic girl…but I was also becoming an atheist
My town said, “we are a Christian nation”
I felt invisible yet I wanted to scream out that I was a bleeding patriot too!
I dream of an atheist president
A president who understands freedom of religion
To include freedom from religion
A freedom to practice and a freedom from practice
A president who walks the walk of our great First Amendment
Living in the city, facing “Trump” and “President” coupled
Disgusting, impossible, shameful
And another, accused of sexual assault, then appointed to SCOTUS
Husband finds me on the kitchen floor, sobbing
Our country feels wasted — how can “Christians” rabidly support such men?
I dream of an atheist president
A president who advances science, innovation, and technology
A president who pushes to explore, embrace, and educate
A president who resists being confined to petty pre-judgments
Life to be lived today, not obsessing over a theoretical afterlife of tomorrow
Spending time with my preacher dad, wanting him to know me, truly
In a museum, smiling at pictures of US presidents smiling back at us
Feeling bold, I muse that maybe one day, we’ll have a Muslim president
Cold, he does not respond
How far we have to go, but I do hope we make it there someday
I dream of an atheist president
Someone who is driven not by a god but by humanity
Someone like the fast-growing many
Someone like you, perhaps
Someone like me
