The Reason Rally is going to be a HUGE event in Washington D.C. sponsored by many secular organizations such as The Secular Coalition of America, and The National Atheist Party. It will have speakers like Adam Smith, Richard Dawkins and even Bad Religion;s Greg Graffin with be there.
In addition to supporting this event the National Atheist Party is also having a Raffle where you can enter to win a free trip and hotel at the Reason Rally. http://www.usanap.org/news/reason-rally-raffle-button-code.html/
I thought many of you on here would be interested in the event. Just the list of speakers makes me want to go. It will be interesting to see what kind of turn out there will be as it has been getting alot of press coverage but the atheist community
My husband and I reserved our seats on the Reason Rally bus yesterday. We are so stoked (and fervently hoping we won’t be the oldest people on the bus, we are both in our 50s). Anybody else here from Indiana going?
I’m going to try. I think they are offering discounted rates and I know a bunch of ppl from ISU are going so I might try to hitch a ride with them. I am so excited about this event. I’m excited not just about the events but also to see the diversity of the people gathered there.
I’ll find a way to get there!
I’m going to try. I think they are offering discounted rates and I know a bunch of ppl from ISU are going so I might try to hitch a ride with them. I am so excited about this event. I’m excited not just about the events but also to see the diversity of the people gathered there.
I’ll find a way to get there!
If you can attend, let me know. I’d like to meet you. My wife and I are also going to the dinner the night before the rally. The speakers will be there, so I hope to meet/greet some cool folk!
I’m saving my Nickels and Dimes, Hoping to meet some cool like minded people. I know that the Student Secular Alliance from ISU are urging their members to go. There are going to be so many people I can’t wait to me from the various Atheist and Secular groups going. I wonder how the press coverage will be. Seeing as its in DC you would think they would cover it.
If I do manage to go to the Rally I will definitly be at the Dinner before. There is alot going on at the Rally, I’m almost disappointed that I wont have time to explore the city itself. Never been to DC
I’m saving my Nickels and Dimes, Hoping to meet some cool like minded people. I know that the Student Secular Alliance from ISU are urging their members to go. There are going to be so many people I can’t wait to me from the various Atheist and Secular groups going. I wonder how the press coverage will be. Seeing as its in DC you would think they would cover it.
If I do manage to go to the Rally I will definitly be at the Dinner before. There is alot going on at the Rally, I’m almost disappointed that I wont have time to explore the city itself. Never been to DC
There is not actually a whole lot to see in D.C.,believe it or not - so don’t feel too bad. If I can get off work I’ll show up,as D.C. is only 30 minutes away from me.
I I would just like to see some old architecture…. or an old Library. I’m originally from Chicago so I know that Big cities always have secret treasures….. and dark scary alleys
But most media says several thousand people showed up. DC’s Metro Weekly says between 10,000 and 20,000. USA Today had the snarkiest major coverage yet says “about 20,000” came. In the past ten years, freethought groups have gained political savvy and collaboration skills. And there’s more popular support and even some diversity. I’m reading in Facebook posts and tweets how empowered people felt there.
And some of the media coverage is good. And the final miracle? Thanks to the cold rain reducing the turnout, there was apparently even an oversupply of Port-o-Sans.
I went to the the Reason Rally and to the Atheists Convention and had a great time at both events. It was very encouraging to see so many diverse people at the Rally. Old and young, and all ethnicities. It was good to see such a wide variety of groups of reasonable people banding and bonding together in the cause of rationality and reason united against superstition. Hopefully this will be a precedent for futther cooperation.
There is not actually a whole lot to see in D.C.,believe it or not - so don’t feel too bad. If I can get off work I’ll show up,as D.C. is only 30 minutes away from me.
It’s one of our favorite places to visit. The museums: Air & Space, Holocaust, Science, Natural history… We also love the Metro as it allows us to easily visit surrounding areas like Georgetown and Bethesda. The many memorials and the single monument can be awe inspiring. Just hanging out at the mall and seeing the variety of people is fun.
There is not actually a whole lot to see in D.C.,believe it or not - so don’t feel too bad. If I can get off work I’ll show up,as D.C. is only 30 minutes away from me.
It’s one of our favorite places to visit. The museums: Air & Space, Holocaust, Science, Natural history… We also love the Metro as it allows us to easily visit surrounding areas like Georgetown and Bethesda. The many memorials and the single monument can be awe inspiring. Just hanging out at the mall and seeing the variety of people is fun.
Yes indeed! I wasn’t able to get there this year, but IMO DC is one of the best spots in the US for tourism. There is so much to see, from the museums (mostly free), to touring the government buildings (congress, library, Supreme Court, State Department, etc.), to the monuments (Lincoln, Jefferson, Vietnam, etc.), to just walking around the Mall, Georgetown or the other neighborhoods.
I have no idea how one could go to that city and think there was not a whole lot to see!
What strikes me most about the rally’s diversity, based on what I see from the photos (I didn’t go) is its relative youthfulness. Lecture-based national conventions, and the more frequent and more local regular humanist/atheist/etc. gatherings, are much grayer (to name just one lack of diversity).
The Rally also seemed to have many students. I hadn’t heard of much growth in student freethought activism. I knew that the Secular Student Alliance had grown in influence as Campus Freethought Alliance organizing declined, but I hadn’t heard of many local trends. Instead I’d heard more about the growth of online freethought social networking, and of low-to-zero committment Meetups. Is campus group activism really up? Did unaffiliated students come on their own? What role did social networks play?
I’m eager to see if organized freethought can develop much appeal for younger people. All groups are going to have to open themselves to change if they stand any chance of their membership looking more like the attendees at the Rally—and more like the population as a whole.
What strikes me most about the rally’s diversity, based on what I see from the photos (I didn’t go) is its relative youthfulness. Lecture-based national conventions, and the more frequent and more local regular humanist/atheist/etc. gatherings, are much grayer (to name just one lack of diversity).
The Rally also seemed to have many students. I hadn’t heard of much growth in student freethought activism. I knew that the Secular Student Alliance had grown in influence as Campus Freethought Alliance organizing declined, but I hadn’t heard of many local trends. Instead I’d heard more about the growth of online freethought social networking, and of low-to-zero committment Meetups. Is campus group activism really up? Did unaffiliated students come on their own? What role did social networks play?
I’m eager to see if organized freethought can develop much appeal for younger people. All groups are going to have to open themselves to change if they stand any chance of their membership looking more like the attendees at the Rally—and more like the population as a whole.
YES! The youth show promise. There were people of all ages, and the youth were plentiful.
There is not actually a whole lot to see in D.C.,believe it or not - so don’t feel too bad. If I can get off work I’ll show up,as D.C. is only 30 minutes away from me.
It’s one of our favorite places to visit. The museums: Air & Space, Holocaust, Science, Natural history… We also love the Metro as it allows us to easily visit surrounding areas like Georgetown and Bethesda. The many memorials and the single monument can be awe inspiring. Just hanging out at the mall and seeing the variety of people is fun.
Yes indeed! I wasn’t able to get there this year, but IMO DC is one of the best spots in the US for tourism. There is so much to see, from the museums (mostly free), to touring the government buildings (congress, library, Supreme Court, State Department, etc.), to the monuments (Lincoln, Jefferson, Vietnam, etc.), to just walking around the Mall, Georgetown or the other neighborhoods.
I have no idea how one could go to that city and think there was not a whole lot to see!
I got edumacated at the rally - I learned that there is only one monument (the Washington monument). All of the other features are memorials. Did not know that before the rally.
