Video tribute to the Reason Rally.

To some of you, particularly those who are religious, this might seem unnecessarily provocative, or even an attempt to give a giant middle finger to those who embrace a particular faith, but I would argue that is not the case.

What this is, and why it is so important, is that it is the coming together publicly of a group of people who, more often than not, feel terribly isolated.

Individuals who grow up within a religious environment, often have a strong sense of community. In fact MANY of their activities will center around their church, or temple, or synagogue.

Atheists have none of that.

We are often ostracized and marginalized to the point that our only constant companions are books and our own troubling thoughts.

I can tell you that as a seven year old suddenly questioning the existence of God, there was no faster way to find your self abandoned on the monkey bars then to bring up that topic on the playground. There was quite literally NO ONE with whom I could discuss what I was going inside my head.

In fact I was told by the principal at one elementary school that parents had complained and that I simply needed to STFU. So in that environment, where I was expected to learn and seek answers to my questions, I was forbidden from asking what I considered one of the most important questions of all.

But nothing could stop my mind from pondering those questions, and for me it became a lifelong journey toward revelation. A journey, might I add, that I have made solo for the majority of my life.

So knowing that there are so many like minded people in the world, and seeing them gathered together in Washington D.C., may come as close as an Atheist can come to a shared religious experience.

And at least for me, that is huge.