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Do the right thing
President Obama's 10-day Asia trip includes visits to India and Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country.
The president chose not to visit the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar during his time in India because it required a head covering that his advisers feared would fuel speculation about his faith. A Pew study showed that nearly 20% of Americans believe falsely that the president is a Muslim.
The more Obama reaches out to Muslims, the more his critics are likely to slander him, implying that he is not a Christian.
An example is his April 2009 speech in Turkey, in which he said, "We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation, we consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values." The president's critics have seized on that statement, insisting that he rejects the Christian foundations of America.
Is Obama stuck between a rock and a hard place? If you were the president, how would you handle this dilemma?
Many people don't believe President Obama when he says:
1. I am a Christian.
2. America is not a Christian nation.
I can neither prove nor disprove the first statement regarding Obama or any other politician. I can take their professions of faith at face value or hypothesize that they are making a political calculation to publicly embrace Christianity.
I can, however, prove Obama's second statement. America is a Christian nation only in the sense that America is a white nation. The majority of Americans are both white and Christian. However, we are not now, nor have we ever officially been, a white nation or Christian nation.
The framers of our U.S. Constitution wanted no part of the religious intolerance and bloodshed they saw in the Christian nations of Europe. They even opposed our own early theocratic colonies, where Pilgrim and Puritan religious dissenters from Europe sought freedom of worship here for their own religion, but not for other religions, whose adherents were excluded from government participation and persecuted.
Our founders created a document in which the government acknowledges no gods, the better to ensure that all citizens have freedom of conscience. Our U.S. Constitution is a godless document. In fact, I'll offer $1000 to anyone who can find the words "God" or "Jesus" in the Constitution.
Unambiguous language from our founders really should end this false charge that America is a Christian nation. In 1797 the Treaty of Tripoli was negotiated by George Washington, signed by John Adams, and ratified unanimously by the United States Senate. This treaty stated in part: "The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."
For those who maintain the United States is a Christian nation, I wonder what part of "not" they don't understand.
So my advice to President Obama about where to visit and what to wear is similar to my advice on policy issues: Do what you believe is right and ignore the critics. Whatever Obama says or does, some critics will be certain he is either lying or exercising poor judgment. In fact, I'm sorry Obama can't adopt this attitude retroactively, instead of always looking for some middle ground and fruitlessly attempting to compromise. Had Obama done what he thinks best, by now we would probably have a single-payer healthcare system, a progressive energy policy, and open gays in the military. Obama's need to accommodate is blood in the water for sharks who oppose him for the sake of opposition.
Misconceptions about Obama's religion are the least of his problems. Some people are surprised at the twenty percent of Americans who wrongly believe Obama is a Muslim. I'm not surprised, since willful ignorance always prevails in the face of evidence, but I think I know how to turn even them into believing he is a Christian. Bring back his old pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Some Obama haters will then move from Obama being a Muslim to Obama being the wrong kind of Christian. Of course, a few will find a way to double hate, calling Rev. Wright a Muslim.
With so much support for Obama being a Muslim, I'll make my own case for Obama being a Jew. Rabbi Capers Funnye, of Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation of Chicago, recently spoke at my institution, the College of Charleston. He is known as "Obama's rabbi" by virtue of his being Michelle Obama's first cousin and close friend. Could that be why Obama refuses to show his birth certificate, where we might find out his real name is "Baruch Hayeem Obamawitz?"
I think I've just presented enough evidence for Obama's Judaism to qualify me as a tea party organizer or a radio talk-show host.
By
Herb Silverman
|
November 8, 2010; 4:30 PM ET
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Posted by: Carstonio | November 13, 2010 9:48 AM
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On semiotics...
"Many people don't believe President Obama when he says:
1. I am a Christian.
2. America is not a Christian nation."
Firstly, notice the differences in meaning between the following statements.
1. Obama is a Christian.
2. Obama says he is a Christian.
3. Obama's actions support his claim of being a Christian.
4. Obama dishonestly says he is a Christian, but he believes otherwise.
5. Obama inaccurately believes he is a Christian - his actions deny the assertion.
6. People believe that Obama has claimed Christianity as a belief.
7. People believe that Obama has claimed a religion other than Christianity.
In order for any claim of what Obama believes to be meaningful, one would have to very carefully delineate what is being asked of people:
"Are you aware of any claims Obama has made regarding his religion?"
"If yes, what do you believe he claimed?"
"Do you believe that Obama believes what he has claimed?"
"Do you agree with his self-assessment?"
And on...
Note that claims of religion, as claims of race, are generally accepted as factual in today's climate. In other words, people generally accept that which is claimed without any qualifying evidence. Note too that Hinduism and Judaism are tribal religions, in that one is born into that particular tribe - albeit with no innate beliefs regarding the religious claims thereof.
But what if "Christianity" were defined more narrowly as, "Christ-like in behaviour"? How many "Christians" would then continue their claims? How many could provide compelling evidence of this Christ-like behaviour?
Finally, note that the above could be answered without any belief one way or the other in the very existence of a Jesus Christ.
Posted by: iconoclast8 | November 12, 2010 3:35 PM
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Firstly, I concur with Professor Silverman that one needs to do what is right rather than letting the others opinions influence our actions. Secondly, if we declare the USA a Christian nation, then the question would be "Are we Christian first or American first?" Think about those Muslims, Jews, Hindus etc that might put their American Pledge second to their religion. We might be heading for disaster.
Posted by: Kent-State-University | November 11, 2010 10:14 PM
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Great post. I have a theory that most of the "Obama is a Muslim" accusations aren't meant literally. Perhaps many people are using "Muslim" in this instance as a euphemism for Obama's ethnicity or "otherness." Or perhaps the euphemism means that he doesn't fit their narrow view of what constitutes a Christian.
Posted by: Carstonio | November 10, 2010 10:27 AM
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Herb Silverman: What a great post. Thank you.
Posted by: cecilg | November 10, 2010 8:11 AM
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If we lose in one direction, we can make it up someplace else. That's business for you. They are losing all over the place and a day short and dollar loose. Before making suit, enter a deposit with the judge and don't break the bank. Justice must be served and money earned. Soak the rich in a hot tub at a spa. Then cover in mud.
Posted by: jobandon | November 9, 2010 11:30 AM
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You do the math dear and I'll do the Irish math. If I get it wrong, she'll be sure to correct me and God knows I'm in need of corrections. They turned the country into a debt prison for kids to save failed contributor cons. That won't fly here. Get paid to crash and warm hands over burning wreckage. She's so cold and I'm a bleeding volcano.
Posted by: jobandon | November 9, 2010 11:17 AM
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The critics are professionals. Ignore at own peril. Pay attention to comics dude.
Posted by: jobandon | November 9, 2010 11:12 AM
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nice synopsis
Posted by: Kingofkings1 | November 9, 2010 5:47 AM
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Why do so many people persist in believing that Obama is Muslim*, despite abundant evidence to the contrary? "You do not reason a man out of something he was not reasoned into." —Jonathan Swift, best known as the author of Gulliver's Travels
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*"not that there's anything wrong with that." —Jerry Seinfeld
Posted by: RichardSRussell | November 8, 2010 8:14 PM
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"Dr. S will need to put on about 50 pounds to compete with behemoths like Limbaugh and Beck. "
Wow, My problem with Beck/Limbaugh has always been what they say/believe, I'd never thought about how it could be just because they're overweight... thanks, I needed another reason to dislike them ... Down with overweight people!!!
Posted by: gladerunner | November 8, 2010 5:58 PM
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I very much agree with Professor Silverman's comment that President Obama should simply do what he thinks is best and forget about the critics. His attempts at walking the middle path have not succeeded in silencing his doubters and have alienated his supporters. As to becoming a talk radio host, Dr. S will need to put on about 50 pounds to compete with behemoths like Limbaugh and Beck. However, he could get away with the break-away "Herb Tea Party."
Posted by: jonesm2 | November 8, 2010 5:50 PM
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That's much more subjective since different people have different ideas of what behavior is "Christ-like."