Lori Lipman Brown is Director of the  Secular Coalition for America, where she serves as the first Congressional lobbyist representing atheists.  She is also a speaker on the SSA's Speaker's Bureau.  She writes a weekly blog for The Humanist; we reprint select articles with permission.

September 9 - As Seen on the Colbert Report

After far too much kvelling, I’ve been asked by my colleagues in the Secular Coalition for America office to take a moratorium on mentioning the name Stephen Colbert.  But He who shall not be mentioned was so much fun!  A few weeks back, I taped a two hour interview for the Colbert Report that was cut to a five minute segment.  (We were aware in advance that this is how it is done.)  While I am sworn to secrecy on some of the more detailed descriptions of the process, I can generally attest that the Colbert folks, including Stephen himself, were very gracious and put this guest quite at ease.

Many individuals have asked which parts of the long interview I would have liked to have seen in the final cut (as opposed to on the cutting room floor.)  There was a very funny pledge of allegiance, much information about military proselytizing, and my insistence that Stephen and I don’t have to agree on theology to agree to live in a civil society – not a theocratic one.  Of course I covered lots of issue-oriented things that didn’t make the final cut, but the goal was to let the Colbert Nation viewers know that the Secular Coalition for America exists and then have them go to our website to get more extensive information.  Mission Accomplished.  

I received numerous e-mails after the show expressing excitement about the interview and those who “get” Colbert’s format understood how it works.  But I also got one very funny e-mail, though the sender didn’t realize it was funny.  The gentleman wrote about the issues I should have covered during the five minute interview (I guess he thought it was a live-to-tape five minute stint.)  He seemed to think it was supposed to be a serious debate with a serious opponent – and missed the satire completely.

After the taping, I asked Stephen to autograph my copy of his book, I Am America and So Can You.  For anyone who hasn’t read it, he has a terrific section on the “Big Secularist Agenda” and how the secular “caucus” of Representative Pete Stark (the only out nontheist in Congress) – he, himself and him – is taking over.  Mr. Colbert inscribed the following in the front of my book:  “Better watch your back.  GOD [underlined three times] bless you.  Stephen Colbert.”  Ya gotta love this guy!

Watch Lori on the Colbert Report courtesy of the Comedy Central website!