It was electrifying to hear an American President declare before the Turkish Parliament, "The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their families or have lived in a Muslim-majority country -- I know, because I am one of them." A truly extraordinary and important moment.
But I have one quibble about Obama's message in Turkey. In trying to walk the tightrope between the "religious" parties in Turkey (which now hold power) and the "secular" parties, he missed a great opportunity.
In the Islamic world (and among conservative Christians in the U.S.) there is a common misconception that you need to choose between having a secular government or a religious society. Obama rubbed up against this tension when he said that "freedom of religion and expression leads to a strong and vibrant civil society that only strengthens the state."
True, but to me that emphasizes the wrong lesson from American history. Our experience has proven that a secular state leads to religious vibrancy.
In his old age, President James Madison was asked to reflect on whether separation of church and state (and religious freedom) had succeeded. Naturally, he said, yes -- but what was interesting were the reasons he gave. You can tell it succeed, he explained, because America seemed more religious.
"No doubt exists that there is much more of religion among us now than there ever was before the change," he wrote. "This proves rather more than that the law is not necessary to the support of religion." What's more, the quality of the clergy had improved. "Religious instruction is now diffused throughout the Community by preachers of every sect with almost equal zeal.... The qualifications of the Preachers, too among the new sects where there was the greatest deficiency, are understood to be improving." On the question of whether clergy could survive without state support, the jury was in: "the number, the industry, and the morality of the Priesthood and the devotion of the people have been manifestly increased by the total separation of the Church from the State."
Obviously this vision -- that religious freedom leads to religious vibrancy -- was not always apparent in America. Though we're accustomed to thinking of "theocracy" as the dangerous form of government invented by radical Muslims, it was one of Massachusetts' early Puritan leaders, John Cotton, who declared, "Theocracy, or to make the Lord God our governor, is the best form of government in a Christian commonwealth."
The founders of the Constitutional era rejected Cotton's formula, and went instead with a unique combination -- a secular government designed to encourage a religious society. In all likelihood, a separation of Mosque and State would lead to a more vibrant, healthier Islam.
Printed first on The Wall Street Journal Online
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Conservative Bull Words
A Conservative "Bull Word" is a word that Conservative Media flacks and parrots quack which is full of Bull, and which gets their Right-Wing looney-tune disciples charging down the pampas like a herd of enraged Bulls stampeding after a waving red flag. You might call it "Conservative Flack Quack". You might even call it "Waving the Red Flag", especially since two of the Conservatives' favorite Bull Words are "Socialist" and"Communist" -- referring to President Obama and Speaker Pelosi.
This week, Conservatives have a new Bull Word -- "Apologize" -- as in, "President Obama on his current trip to Europe "apologized" to the rest of the world for things he says the United States has done wrong. What Malarkey! Obama did not apologize to anyone about the United States. He made a supremely successful trip overseas in which he spoke, with great diplomacy, about mistakes made in the past by both Europe and the United States and the need to improve relations between the two. He made an excellent start in getting those relations back on the right track.
The last time a U.S. president visited Iraq, in December 2008, shoes were thrown at him. I guess Republicans prefer having that kind of clueless president than our current incumbent who is cheered wherever he goes in the world. Obama also received a thunderous reception from American troops in Iraq -- which carries a lot more weight than listening to the Bull Words of today's Conservative Media.
Liberals like the fact that we have solid allies in this world. It makes the U. S. a lot stronger. Being supported by many reliable allies helped the U. S. win World War II in 3-1/2 years, under liberal American leadership. By contrast, we've had Conservative leadership for the past eight years, following 9/11 -- alienating our allies all over the world -- and where do we stand today in the War On Terror?
Obama is restoring our international relationships, and thereby making the U. S. much safer and stronger. He is getting moderate Muslim countries more firmly on our side. That makes good sense. After all, they are the ones who have the most to lose from Islamic terrorism, since moderate Muslim governments are the ones which Islamic terrorists are trying to overthrow and replace. Our ability to defeat Islamic Terrorism has improved greatly by having a popular, charismatic president with a brain in the White House instead of Mister Bumble-Fumble who alienated so much of the world and made the U. S. more isolated than ever.
Conservative Bull Words should be recognized for what they are -- a lot of Bull being thrown by the usual sources.
Please visit my Blog: "Conservatives Are America's Real Terrorists"
http://conservativesarecommunistss.blogspot.com/
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