...and non-believers

We got thrown a bone. Maybe it was because of all the ruckus we've been raising lately. Maybe it's a genuine desire to move past the divisiveness of the past. Maybe it's because President Obama really is a closet atheist. For whatever reason he saw fit to include that 16.1% of the population that had never been included in an inaugural address before. He said: "... [W]e know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers." Sorry Sikhs, Pagans, and Buddhists. Better luck next time.

He threw us this bone even after we filed suit, for the third time, to keep "So help me god" out of the inaugural oath. Although there was valid legal grounding (the phrase isn't in the constitutional version of the oath) the larger secular community was heavily divided regarding the wisdom of such a stunt. Many, perhaps rightly, feared the backlash such an obviously futile gesture would bring about in the general public. Others, also perhaps rightly, saw value in standing up for the separation of church and state.

He threw us this bone even after we angered the nation by launching an ad campaign on DC buses over Christmas asking "Why believe in a god?" That campaign lowered the national dialog to the level of bumper stickers by provoking Christian ads responding "...Because I created you! - God." (Who knew God spoke through marketing!)

He threw us a bone as Americans which means a lot when you remember that it was only three presidents ago when #41 said "No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." What a slap to the face of 21% of the military. I guess they were all just worm dirt.

Those three little words mean a lot coming from the new president, but what about the rest of the country? According to one blogger at the inauguration the only time there were boo's for Obama was when non-believers were mentioned. On TV the next day, "The View" commentator Joy Behar (the liberal one!), said, "I've never heard a presidential speech where they also acknowledged non-believers. I mean, there was a lot of Jesus and a lot of religion, but to actually say we're reaching out even to you pathetic atheists out there, you know, who don't believe, I thought that was a great thing." Sure, she was trying to show it in a positive light, but can you imagine the uproar if she had said, even in passing, pathetic Jews, pathetic blacks, or, Allah forbid, pathetic Muslims? Fatwa's all around! Considering that there are more non-believers than Jews in America, it seems absurd that the level of disdain directed toward us is, not only unchallenged, but spurred on by the popular media!

But this gesture does give me a good feeling about the direction the new administration is taking. They are being inclusive, and maybe that's not so surprising. Remember, Obama was raised in a very secular home. His father was born a Muslim but became an atheist as an adult. His mother was raised by non-practicing Methodists and Baptists and he freely admits that he grew up with a "healthy skepticism of organized religion." So when the inaugural oath had to be repeated last Wednesday evening because of the flub-up during the ceremony Tuesday, perhaps it's no surprise that it was done without the bible. Although I'm assuming they still used the "So help me IPU," bit.