Ugh.
Sherman: What will you do to win the votes of the Americans who are atheists?Bush: I guess I'm pretty weak in the atheist community. Faith in god is important to me.
Sherman: Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are atheists?
Bush: No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.
Sherman (somewhat taken aback): Do you support as a sound constitutional principle the separation of state and church?
Bush: Yes, I support the separation of church and state. I'm just not very high on atheists.
2 comments:
I remember that interview. I was in high school. At that time I was a brain-washed fundie head, so I think I liked what he said. Now, I just can't stand that statement. It fosters hate toward atheists and hate is never good. Also shows just how much I have changed in 20 years. I'm getting so old.
It is not that it just fosters hate towards atheists. Intolerance for atheists is one of the last frontiers of rationality in this democracy/republic. Imagine if Papa Bush had tried to make that same statement inserting "African Americans" or "Jews".
"No, I don't know that Jews should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots."
Even Fox News would be covering that, and in a major way.
McCain recently made a video stating that we had to choose a president who would stick to our Judeo-Christian roots, even stating that we would welcome immigrants, but they had to know they were being accepted into a Christian country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9izhjnaLa3M
It is terrifying when you realize that these people are choosing their presidents based on their faith on intangible and unprovable hypothesis. It is even more terrifying when you consider that many of these same people would like to consider atheists as second-class citizens.
I would bet that most American have never even read the Constitution. The more they say that America is a Christian nation, the more that the masses believe it.
Post a Comment