Tolerance, diversity, and multiculturalism are important considerations for many of us on the political left. The acceptance of others and the promotion of equality could be considered core progressive values. We strive to be accepting and supportive of women, ethnic minorities, LGBT persons, and the like. We value human differences and believe that we are stronger as a people because of them.

Although freethinkers (i.e., atheists, agnostics, and secular humanists) have played an important role throughout the progressive movement, their place in today's political left is not always clear. Since the "Reagan revolution" of the 1980s, we have seen the Republican Party become the party of evangelical fundamentalist Christians. As this group has solidified power, some particularly disturbing trends have emerged. Examples include efforts to rewrite U.S. history (or the Constitution itself) to support the myth that our nation's founders wanted a Christian nation, dominion theology, and the Christianizing of the U.S. military.

These trends are concerning not only to American freethinkers but also to religious Americans who appreciate the importance of church-state separation and recognize that our secular Constitution has served us well.

One of the many consequences of 8 years under Bush was that the Democratic Party decided that they needed to do a better job of reaching out to religious communities. We started hearing a great deal about the "religious left," and many have credited this strategy with helping the Democrats win the White House.

It is easy to see why such a strategy would be effective given that the overwhelming majority of Americans believe in God. Despite some evidence of a recent decline in the importance of religion in people's daily lives, America remains largely a nation of believers.

At the same time, many of the freethinkers who have long allied themselves with the progressive movement have started to feel increasingly alienated from contemporary politics. They look around for candidates who might represent their viewpoint and find none. In fact, they see candidates who even agree to meet with them punished for it by their right-wing opponents and the media.

Perhaps one of the biggest sources of discontent among politically active freethinkers is that they feel that their elected officials have decided it is safe to ignore them. After all, it isn't as though many freethinkers are going to jump ship and ally themselves with the Republican Party and their Christian extremist base. Knowing that freethinkers don't have anywhere else to go, Democratic politicians feel free to ignore them and instead focus on pandering to the religious left.

I'd like to suggest that the values of tolerance, equality, and acceptance be extended to freethinking Americans too. Maybe it is time for "we the people" to show our elected officials how to behave.

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