Maybe Barack Obama is not a Muslim after all, but have you considered that he might well be Jewish? After all, the Jews are really running everything in the country, so wouldn’t make sense that they put one of their own in the White House? Of course, these are not serious questions, but the idea that the President is Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Yorba or anything else you can think of is no more farfetched (or in this instance insidious) than his being a follower of Islam.
Let’s remember the notion that Obama is a Muslim didn’t emerge out of the blue. It emanates from disinformation carefully planted and latched onto by an electorate that is shockingly illiterate when it comes to politics, not to mention national and world affairs. And it is misinformation that in this highly charged environment only two types of leaders can correct: Republican and religious. What’s happened to all those good Christian Republicans like Senator Mitch and Representative John who piously invoke God at every opportune moment? Does their religion not value the truth? Okay, I understand where they are coming from, hypocritical as it may be, but it is really hard to give a pass to America’s clergy.
Wasn’t it just yesterday when Rick Warren commanded the presidential candidates to stand before him at Saddleback? That was when he pointedly asked, what does it mean to you to trust in Christ? In case you’ve forgotten it, here is what the then Senator Obama said: As a starting point, it means I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and that I am redeemed through him. That is a source of strength and sustenance on a daily basis. I know that I don't walk alone, and I know that if I can get myself out of the way, that I can maybe carry out in some small way what he intends. And it means that those sins that I have on a fairly regular basis hopefully will be washed away. That seems quite definitive. In fact it is far more information than we all need or that frankly I want to know. But perhaps it still isn’t enough for Pastor Rick. Unless I missed it (which is possible), he has been totally MIA when his President’s religious affiliation – the one he confessed so openly before the country and, one must assume before God -- is being miscast. Not to put the entire burden on this single mega-pastor, the same can be said of much, if not all, the other clergy? I guess they are busy with more important and sacred matters, but their silence is so audible that it is shatters our moral eardrums.
Of course the more fundamental question here is not about which religion the President follows, but why that matters? The Declaration of Independence may give God a nod, but I know of no requirement in the Constitution that the nation’s chief executive be a Christian or that she (one can still hope) has to follow any religion at all. The widespread notion that you can’t trust an atheist, and probably even an avowed agnostic, with governess is simply born out of ignorance. There is no experiential or scientific proof that following a religion is any more a guarantee of good performance or for that matter honesty than following none. Even the most pious among us can't miraculously right a very sick economy. Moreover, we should remember that making religion a requirement effectively renders 16% (and growing) of our citizens ineligible for the highest office. That includes 25% of our young people, our future. Put differently, the only way any of them can rise to the presidency is to lie about their beliefs, just as gays and lesbians had to lie about their identity to make it in our world.
The sad thing about the Obama is a Muslim myth is that it is yet another opportunity for us to avoid any serious discussion about why we insist on this religious litmus test. Think for example if we made religious beliefs or practice a requirement of all people in decisive positions. We might not have many of today’s medical advancements, scientific discoveries, technology and so much more. Does that mean you have to be non-religious to work or create in these fields? Of course not, and there are religious people in all of them. But it does suggest that believing in God or going to Church, Synagogue or Mosque isn’t a prerequisite for making a major, indeed essential, contribution to our society or well being.
We’re not going to have this conversation, just as we’re unlikely to have a serious one about race or so many other important things. We’re too devoted to our truths and our prejudices and are clearly in mortal fear of having any of them disproved or even cast in the slightest doubt. This isn’t about President Obama’s religion, which is simply one of the issues of the moment that come and go on cable news. It’s about us and about the fantasies with which we live. They’re of the stuff that gives us the right to demand of others what we wouldn’t, god forbid, demand of ourselves. Perhaps you can live with that. I chose not to.
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