I certainly didn't choose to be an atheist. It was not a product of my parents or genetic makeup (that I know of), but I ended up there no matter how hard I fought against it. And I did spend at least a couple years hating myself because of it.

It does not surprise me that people living in cultures where atheists are hated would internalize at least some of the negative attitudes, including atheists. There are probably lots of "self-loathing" atheists out there.

I'm not really thinking about atheists as a voting bloc in the sense that they'd all vote the same way. They wouldn't. It doesn't matter. I just want to see a massive increase in voter turnout among secular voters. I don't care how they vote; I just want to see far more of them vote.

I think I get what you are saying about naivete. I usually prefer horror films that leave more to my imagination (i.e., Psycho) rather than showing gore for the sake of gore. As for the real world, there are plenty of things I'd prefer not to know about too. On the other hand, I wonder if knowing what is really happening out there might put us in a better position to do something about it. I think I would have preferred to remain ignorant about what the Catholic Church has been doing to children; however, I'd guess that widespread ignorance of this issue is one of the reasons it has endured for so long.

I'm not sure, but you can always break it into a few comments if you'd prefer.

It has been too long since I've seen the first two, but I think you make a good point about the morality involved.

Yep. I find it strange how reluctant most of the Christians I've known have been to admit the simple truth that where they grew up and who raised them had more to do with them being Christians than just about anything else.

The polls I have seen reflect a shrinking enthusiasm gap. Then again, the polls indicated that Clinton would defeat Trump by a wide margin. I don't doubt that many activists are fired up; I just hope that will be enough to get them to the polls.

I very much like the idea of trying to provide a rational secular alternative to religious belief.

Yeah, I'm guessing it would be a big number. I've always found it fascinating that so many people believe that it is morally permissible for someone to be tortured for eternity for the "sin" of not believing what they believe.