Bobbie Kirkhart

Bobbie Kirkhart is a past president of the Atheist Alliance International and of Atheists United. She is a founder and past vice president of the Secular Coalition for America. She is a frequent contributor to U.S. freethought publications.

Blog posts by Bobbie Kirkhart:

A Government of, by, and for the people?
We Amer­i­cans har­bor a huge dichoto­my in our atti­tudes toward our coun­try. We dis­play our patri­o­tism in bor­der­line chau­vin­is­tic man­ner, play­ing the nation­al anthem before every … Continue reading A Government of, by, and for the people? →

Re-re-recount (and counting)
As the world knows, Don­ald Trump’s 2016 elec­tion to the pres­i­den­cy had healthy assis­tance from Russ­ian bots that, in spite of their non-human cir­cum­stance, knew a … Continue reading Re-re-recount (and counting) →

We Sing America
I think it’s like­ly true that the peo­ple of all nations love their patri­ot­ic songs even when they don’t agree with their message. I love Amer­i­can … Continue reading We Sing America →

We Were Trumped!
Amer­i­cans do not vote direct­ly for their pres­i­dents. We vote for the peo­ple who will vote for our pres­i­dents. Each state is assigned elec­tors, based part­ly … Continue reading We Were Trumped! →

Politics and Religion in a Secular State
It is iron­ic that, as the world’s first sec­u­lar democ­ra­cy hav­ing scorned all state reli­gion, we soon became and have remained, social­ly and polit­i­cal­ly, pre­oc­cu­pied with … Continue reading Politics and Religion in a Secular State →

The Long March to Justice
When I was five years old, I announced my new dis­cov­ery: “Negroes (the polite term at the time) are bad.” My par­ents tried to cor­rect me, … Continue reading The Long March to Justice →

Yay! People love her!
Soc­cer star Megan Rapi­noe has a twin sis­ter, but every­one rec­og­nizes that they are fra­ter­nal twins because Megan cer­tain­ly is one of a kind. She’s unique … Continue reading Yay! People love her! →

“Memories of Government Springs Park”
Gov­ern­ment Springs Park was once the pride of Enid, Okla­homa. Dur­ing my child­hood, gov­ern­ment was con­sid­ered a good thing, so we often used that full name … Continue reading “Memories of Government Springs Park” →

Democracy American Style
Although the midterm elec­tions are already over, my Ger­man friends are still ask­ing me what they are all about. They say that most Euro­peans don’t under­stand … Continue reading Democracy American Style →

BlacKkKlansman: A Much Too American Story
It is an inter­est­ing sit­u­a­tion: a black cop infil­trates the Ku Klux Klan, the most sto­ried white suprema­cist group in the Unit­ed States. How could this … Continue reading BlacKkKlansman: A Much Too American Story →

When the News Was True: The Post
News­pa­pers always make good movies: the dare-dev­il reporter, the over­achiev­ing assis­tant, and the crusty edi­tor up against the pow­er of a dis­hon­est gov­ern­ment. There is won­der­ful … Continue reading When the News Was True: The Post →

If You’re a Star…
 “If you’re a star, they’ll let you do it,” Don­ald Trump explained in his boast­ful account of casu­al assault on women. This rant, known as the … Continue reading If You’re a Star… →

Beatriz at Dinner: Comedy, Tragedy, Portrait?
We first see Beat­riz (Salma Hayek) going through morn­ing chores, feed­ing her dogs, and light­ing a can­dle for deceased loved ones, includ­ing her dead goat. She’s … Continue reading Beatriz at Dinner: Comedy, Tragedy, Portrait? →

Getting to Know You
y uni­ver­si­ty school days – at least on the stu­dent side of the desk – are two decades past now, but I dare­say this sto­ry is … Continue reading Getting to Know You →

Following Convention (or Political Mathematics)
The polit­i­cal par­ties spend count­less hours plan­ning their con­ven­tions. This is, after all, four nights of free adver­tis­ing and their first chance to intro­duce their can­di­dates … Continue reading Following Convention (or Political Mathematics) →

Memorial Service
Recent­ly, I attend­ed a memo­r­i­al ser­vice for an old friend. Peg had led a long and accom­plished life before her final years of excru­ci­at­ing pain and … Continue reading Memorial Service →

“In the Hands of Babes”
At fam­i­ly gath­er­ings, my sis­ter likes to tell the sto­ry of a time when the men and boys in her fam­i­ly were going out tar­get shoot­ing. … Continue reading “In the Hands of Babes” →

Many are Called …
We’re in the mid­dle of the pres­i­den­tial pri­maries, elec­tions that deter­mine the del­e­gates to the par­ty con­ven­tions as well as the plat­form and the even­tu­al nom­i­nee … Continue reading Many are Called … →

The Oscars – Not in Color This Year
There’s always sus­pense at the Oscars, but this year edge-of-the-seat ten­sion will be greater than it has ever been. There is inter­est, of course, in who … Continue reading The Oscars – Not in Color This Year →

Like Father, Like Son
Rand Paul emu­lates his father in almost every way. Almost. :: Ron Paul is a physi­cian; Rand Paul is a physician. :: Dad was in the … Continue reading Like Father, Like Son →

The Woman in the Pants Suit
Hillary Clin­ton is a strong, prag­mat­ic politi­cian. Mod­er­ate­ly hawk­ish, she cast a mean­ing­less vote to sup­port the Iraq War, which she now regrets—though she still pro­claims … Continue reading The Woman in the Pants Suit →

God at the Bank
We were the only two wait­ing in the New Accounts sec­tion in the bank. For us gre­gar­i­ous Amer­i­cans, this is a slight­ly awk­ward sit­u­a­tion. In most … Continue reading God at the Bank →

B.Y.O.B. – Bring Your Own Bag
Amer­i­cans have nev­er paid for gro­cery bags – paper or plas­tic. Mar­kets would even dou­ble-bag on request. No charge. Hence, we were slow to observe that … Continue reading B.Y.O.B. – Bring Your Own Bag →