Look Around, Look Around, at How Lucky We Are to Be Alive Right Now.

Every day you fight like you're running out of time

Happy Spring, Secular Fam! It’s been a minute, since springtime is my busiest time of the year, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a BUNCH of stuff going on. Here in Arizona and across the country, we’ve all been dealing with the never-ending onslaught of chaos, driven by evangelical extremists in elected positions of power. 

Trust that I am very aware of what’s been going on in Peoria (PUSD) these past few weeks, and I hope to get to it at some point. Since their meetings have become Marathons of Ignorance, averaging about seven hours every two weeks, it is hard to keep up. I’ll just provide a few bullet points of their nonsense until I have the time to give PUSD the attention it deserves:

• They’ve rewritten policy to essentially chase out social workers

• They’ve codified their bigotry against trans children 

• They approved a mission/vision/values statement without ANY community input

• They’re scrambling to remove any mention of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in their policies

• They’re micromanaging staff travel (though the goalposts continue to move)

• They recently requested information about teachers that participated in any protests

These folks use their religious ideologies to enact sweeping policy changes. They approve discriminatory policies based on their feelings, conspiracy theories, and vast amounts of misinformation. Since Inauguration Day, they’re now justifying these policies by claiming they’re following “the law” but executive orders are not law, and in fact, many judges are striking down these EOs as unconstitutional. 

There’s so much to unpack there. But I’ll get to PUSD at a later date. Today is not that day.

As I stated, this is my busiest time of the year. The state legislature is in session, school boards are in full swing, and Secular AZ participates in many in-person events. So far this year, we’ve been at the Willo Home Tour, the Coronado Home Tour, the Melrose Street Fair, the Encanto-Palmcroft Home Tour, Secular Day at the Capitol, and the Tucson Festival of Books (TFoB). We’ll also be at the Rainbows Festival on April 5-6, 2025, Bisbee Pride over Father’s Day weekend, and we’re looking into Pride in the Pines on June 21st, 2025. If you’re interested in volunteering, let us know!

If there is an event in your corner of Arizona this summer, we’d love to hear about it.  

During these events, I’m happy to report that the Secular AZ booths have been HOPPING! At the Melrose Street Fair, our neighbor was a local church, and even their volunteers signed up to be on our mailing list. That’s because the Establishment Clause and free speech and expression are for everyone. They’re not just for Christian nationalists, and they don’t just belong to one party. 

As always, there are always some “Well, Actually’s” at these events (shout out to Chrissy Stroop for that new phrase!). The Well, Actually’s™ are usually middle-aged-to-elderly white men. 

You know the type. The dudes who think that everything is a debate and that their opinion is always right. I can spot the Well, Actually’s™ a mile away. They do this thing where they come upon our booth with all of our signage and merchandise that displays clearly what we stand for, and they react. Usually, it’s a grimace, a scowl, and/or a harrumph. They pace around the booth, listening to me engage with attendees. Then, once there’s a lull in traffic, they step up to the booth, ready to Well, Actually™ me about religion. 

It’s adorable. 

One older gentleman and his wife came up to the Secular AZ booth at TFoB and I could spot him a mile away. He harrumphed and scowled his way over to the booth and a volunteer started educating him about the work that we do, and eventually, he said, “I’m on the other side of this issue.” 

Our volunteer was a tad surprised, and said, “So you want religion to be in government?” and he asserted that he did and that would be a good thing. So I chimed in, “Oh! So like the Taliban in Afghanistan?” 

Secular Fam, when I tell you I thought this old man was about to jump over the table at me…he was absolutely enraged. He leaned in, and his face reddened while he sputtered and said, “You all, you…you’re just…” and then he dismissed me with his hand while he stormed off. 

Precious snowflakes. Bless their hearts. 

Sadly, they’ve only thought of an authoritarian theocracy on their own terms. These folks will wring their hands over authoritarian theocracies in places like Afghanistan, and claim to care about the women and girls over there while restricting the rights of women and girls over here. They don’t see their own hypocrisy, and they likely never will. 

But it’s fun to troll them. 

There was one other Well, Actually™ that tried to debate, but I was so damn busy speaking with people who support our secular mission I barely even noticed him.

There were so many good things at the TFoB, so how about I focus on them instead? First, this book festival draws people from all over the country. All throughout the day, there are interviews and panel discussions with renowned authors, journalists, and scholars from various fields. 

While I was walking around on Saturday, I ran into Tucson celebrity, David Fitzsimmons, a cartoonist and columnist. If you haven’t read his Substack, you really should. He was gearing up to interview columnist Maureen Dowd (!!!). I wasn’t able to attend, but I heard that the interview was incredible. 

In addition to all of the booths where authors were promoting their books, there were also many nonprofit organizations. One of them was a nonprofit called “Esperanza.” This is an organization that provides “housing, social services, programs, and transportation to assist a Veteran’s transition into everyday life.” According to their website, 70.5% of their funding comes from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, so I wonder if their funding has been affected by the (f)Elon Musk wrecking ball. 

Another fantastic nonprofit, Books for Classrooms, had a booth, and our Tucson board member, Mary, knew the women who founded and run this nonprofit. This group was founded in 2018 in the wake of the massive teachers’ strike that took place that spring. Their mission is to help “build stronger schools, communities and citizens [by providing] over 50,000 books on diversity, peace, social justice, and the environment to over 800 classrooms and libraries in Pima County Title 1 schools; allowing over 20,000 students to see themselves in books.”

Their board is composed of educators, scientists, community organizers, veterans, and former elected officials. Their funding comes from multiple foundations, churches, corporate charities, and private donors. Despite evangelical cult members’ attempts to erase the last 80 years of progress in the US and resegregate our society, these fierce (mostly) women are pushing back against authoritarianism. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if I ran into one of these women handing out free mom hugs at Pride events.

I wandered by another booth of do-gooders who believe that everyone deserves compassion and respect (weird these days, right?). The Humane Borders organization “provides lifesaving water to protect the fundamental human right to safe drinking water…powered by private donations and dedicated volunteers, working to prevent deaths by maintaining water stations throughout Southern Arizona.”

The description on their website says that they are nonpartisan and guided by their faith-based roots, but given right-wing cult members’ treatment of immigrants these days, I’m guessing those “Christians” are not lining up to volunteer with this organization. 

There were a TON of conservation groups, working hard to protect various habitats around Southern Arizona. I wish I had taken better notes about the different environmental groups who had set up booths, but one really stood out to me: The Great Old Broads for Wilderness. 

This group is a “women-led national grassroots organization that engages and inspires activism to preserve and protect wilderness and wild lands.” Right off the bat, I love the name. I love myself some great old broads. They have a lot to teach us, if only we would listen

While the “Christians” at TFoB stood around, goading people into debates about abortion, 

these groups were out there doing the kind of work that Jesus actually would have approved of. 

Most days, I feel like the world is crumbling around my ears, but groups like these give me hope. And so do you, Secular Fam. Your monthly donations and paid subscriptions allow us to keep fighting against religious extremism. If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves, we’re ready to put you to work. 

The point of this post today is to remind us to take a note from the Schuyler Sisters and “look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now.” Whether we like it or not, this is the timeline we’re in, and we can choose to bury our heads in the sand or we can get out there and be the change we want to see in the world.