What is Digg?870 Comments
- dreamflows, on 02/10/2008, -8/+801http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060628-call_to_rene ...
"For one, they need to understand the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy, but the robustness of our religious practice. Folks tend to forget that during our founding, it wasn't the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment. It was the persecuted minorities, it was Baptists like John Leland who didn't want the established churches to impose their views on folks who were getting happy out in the fields and teaching the scripture to slaves. It was the forbearers of the evangelicals who were the most adamant about not mingling government with religious, because they did not want state-sponsored religion hindering their ability to practice their faith as they understood it.
Moreover, given the increasing diversity of America's population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.
And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our bibles. Folks haven't been reading their bibles.
This brings me to my second point. Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all." - GhostyBoy, on 02/10/2008, -17/+600I was under the impression that Obama was all inspiring sounding yet vague speeches, but damn! He actually has something to say and he's ***** smart!
- bitspace, on 02/10/2008, -19/+411This guy is simply amazing. I am atheist, and have found myself becoming less and less tolerant of religion in the past 10 years or so. This speech just reminded me of why I ought to be more tolerant of the faith of others.
- whizbang, on 02/10/2008, -5/+274http://www.barackobama.com/2006/06/28/call_to_rene ...
"I was not raised in a particularly religious household, as undoubtedly many in the audience were. My father, who returned to Kenya when I was just two, was born Muslim but as an adult became an atheist. My mother, whose parents were non-practicing Baptists and Methodists, was probably one of the most spiritual and kindest people I've ever known, but grew up with a healthy skepticism of organized religion herself. As a consequence, so did I." - DuppyLoLo, on 02/10/2008, -12/+269Obama is Genuine, well spoken, intelligent, inspiring, internationally favored, funded by the people, and more likely to make a positive change in Washington. If Hillary were elected the Democratic nominee she has a big chance of losing to McCain because of her clouded history and the fact she refuses to release her White House documents and Tax info. Even if she won the election in November she will be beholden to the corporate interest and Washington Lobbyist who funded her campaign. This is election is too important. We need someone who will win and is beholden to the people above all else. I began as a hillary supporter but the more I learn I know I could not vote for her anymore. I swear if she wins the nomination I will vote Green Party before Democratic. Let's put Obama in the White House!
- rangermatt, on 02/10/2008, -8/+233As a Christian, I'm so sick of people like Dobson and the extreme right hijacking my faith to be used for hatred. Obama said it perfectly; I just can't possibly agree more.
- Ireland, on 02/10/2008, -17/+207This man is possibly the best politician I've ever seen. And for the all the "right" reasons.
- crowbar77, on 02/10/2008, -18/+195This guy can save America.
- inactive, on 02/10/2008, -4/+180I like this guy. He just said what was exactly on my mind. Separation of Church and State protects both Church and State. I don't know if hes the right candidate or not, but this is a plus argument for me.
- Zandarrr, on 02/10/2008, -10/+152Ok Obama, you've finally won me over.
Obama '08! - Daolohua, on 02/10/2008, -4/+140Speaking as an atheist, this is an incredible speech and speaks to those of all religious backgrounds
- thebellmaster1x, on 02/10/2008, -1/+133The best part of his argument is his use of actual LOGIC instead of dogma to reach a conclusion. A lot of overly religious people skip the whole science of making a statement. Instead, he poses the hypothetical of a Christianity-only nation and proves it wouldn't work through contradiction: ". . .[W]hose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's?"
I can't help but smile at the thought of this man being President. No, I don't like religion very much, but if he's smart enough to recognize that it's not the government's business, I'll let him practice whatever he feels is appropriate. - brianbb98, on 02/10/2008, -18/+145For all you guys planning to write in Ron Paul in November... dont waste your vote. Seriously. I was there, i donated, i voted but it would truly be throwing your vote away and giving your vote to McCain. If we can just keep Clinton from winning...
- macjaeh, on 02/10/2008, -10/+125Just beautiful. I love Barack. Finally a politician with a sense of tolerance for all people. Obama/Human Rights '08
- Torx, on 02/10/2008, -7/+114Put this guy in office NOW.
- blackcloud333, on 02/10/2008, -3/+90It's going to be an incredible change to have an intelligent man in office after these last 7 years.
- deanlowe, on 02/10/2008, -4/+81That speech was not about atheism.
- GoneGreen, on 02/10/2008, -4/+76Atheist as well and it did the same for me,,,
- rebotfc, on 02/10/2008, -2/+73This is an amazing lecture, and shows some real insight into faith. Please democrats don't mess this election up. Vote for obama !!!
- ZephyrNinety, on 02/10/2008, -52/+122Jesus wouldn't vote for Obama because imaginary people can't vote.
- dreamflow, on 02/10/2008, -6/+73MIRROR
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-tdM265j7Q
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj86Xlbvq4A
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz4nPeC8SIM
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaNAT6rh-Ao
Part 5 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjNYCByGAR4 - skipdog172, on 02/10/2008, -4/+68I think most Ron Paul supporters aren't going to write in Paul. My group of friends(all who have donated to Paul's campaign) are certainly voting for Obama.
- ZenMojo, on 02/10/2008, -3/+66For those who missed it, Obama makes a reference to Mary Wright Edelman. Mary Wright Edelman was Hillary Clinton's boss on the Children's Defense Fund during that one year Hillary served. She invited Edelman onto the White House staff but after a couple of years Edelman left saying something to the effect of, and I ***** you not, "I can no longer work for Satan." Hillary left her off her "thanks" in her autobiography.
- hassanchop13, on 02/10/2008, -2/+64i'm not an atheist, but i feel its very important that he was not afraid establish this. he understands what seperation of church and state really is; the state makes decisions best for everyone regardless of faith but does not disallow faith either. thats what freedom is.
- unearth, on 02/10/2008, -2/+57Yeah, I just dropped what I was doing for the next 40 minutes to listen to him. Imagine trying to do the same for Hillary or McCain.
- mCanada, on 02/10/2008, -18/+72Glad to see part of his family is atheist. If he gets into the WH, It's a start for us
- rentmitchum, on 02/10/2008, -2/+55Wow. I agree, not really about atheism, it's about how public officials should act. I've decided officially. My vote goes to Obama this year.
- Lyk4n, on 02/10/2008, -10/+57Hooray for his dad coming into the light of reason! I'm happy that Obama has some real experience with Atheists. Some Christians don't understand that we don't worship Satan. He simply doesn't exist..
- tinko, on 02/10/2008, -4/+51It seems Obama understands the true message of the Bible. Huckabee on the other hand..
- schnikies79, on 02/10/2008, -1/+47He sounds like someone who is not going to stomp all over the beliefs of those who don't vote for him, way to go!
Nothing bugs me more than someone pandering to one side and one side only. The president should be there for 100% of the population, not for the 40-50% that voted for him/her. You shouldn't ***** all over everyone else's beliefs because yours are different. I don't want a Republican that is going to say ***** all the democrats and what they believe and I don't want a Democrat that is going to say ***** all the Republicans and what they believe.
I was originally against Obama, but my mind is changing. - pintomp3, on 02/10/2008, -11/+53wow, what a contrast to diggs other popular candidate:
"The notion of a rigid separation between church and state has no basis in either the text of the Constitution or the writings of our Founding Fathers. On the contrary, our Founders’ political views were strongly informed by their religious beliefs."
"The Founding Fathers envisioned a robustly Christian yet religiously tolerant America, with churches serving as vital institutions that would eclipse the state in importance. Throughout our nation’s history, churches have done what no government can ever do, namely teach morality and civility. Moral and civil individuals are largely governed by their own sense of right and wrong, and hence have little need for external government. This is the real reason the collectivist Left hates religion: Churches as institutions compete with the state for the people’s allegiance, and many devout people put their faith in God before their faith in the state."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul148.html - anselm83, on 02/10/2008, -6/+46He "found religion" before he got into politics; very inconvenient for your theory.
- dn11, on 02/10/2008, -1/+41"In fact, because I do not believe that religious people have a monopoly on morality, I would rather have someone who is grounded in morality and ethics, and who is also secular, affirm their morality and ethics and values without pretending that they're something they're not. They don't need to do that. None of us need to do that".
- 3tcp, on 02/10/2008, -3/+41It takes balls to speak about the role of religion at all in politics. It takes even more to talk about the role of atheists in the same discussion. It takes a lot more to do so in front of a religious political group that says 'Faith: Guiding Our Votes". This is a 'progressive' organization but faith and politics is a minefield issue, take one wrong step it can blow up in your face no matter who you're talking to.
- elkram, on 02/10/2008, -5/+42Beautifully put, perhaps like what Jesus might have said, unlike the legalistic dogmatic talking heads.
- MotleyTool, on 02/10/2008, -0/+37My politics are very much independant, but if anyone can listen to this speech and not realize that Barack Obama is a historical leader in the making, I don't think anything could change their minds.
This man is amazing, and is obviously backed by amazing speech writers and campaign advisors. We're in danger of having real hope for a more compassionate future with this man. Sign me up, and bring back the country I love! - kirakun, on 02/10/2008, -0/+36... understands the USE of the bible to get votes.
- yndy, on 02/10/2008, -4/+39Thanks for posting this excerpt. I'm not an Obama supporter and wouldn't have watched the video - but this is impressive.
Makes me think. - microbefox, on 02/10/2008, -2/+35That part of the speech hit the mark I never realized was there until he said it. Obama is a well spoken and forward thinking man.
- mrcoderga, on 02/10/2008, -1/+33The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.
-- Thomas J. - fisherking, on 02/10/2008, -2/+34This is the speech that introduced me to Obama about a year and a half ago. I have been a supporter ever since. The most intelligent and insightful ideas I've heard from a politician on the matters of faith...and probably anything else...I've ever heard. Just imagine this attitude in the White House instead of a man who believes his actions are blessed by God. Imagine the audacity of hope instead of the audacity of fundamentalism.
- wtfpwned98, on 02/10/2008, -1/+32Get used to it...he's one of the only people I've ever known who I can never disagree with. He's not too far to the left, not too far to the right...he's just always saying something that makes sense. With most politicians, you disagree with them as soon as they side with some special interest...Obama always seems to be siding with something like, I dunno....logic?
There's a reason that the media seem to be biased in his favor...even guys like Rush Limbaugh have a hard time pointing to any of his statements and disagreeing with them, though you can expect them to find things once the Democrat-Republican debates start (if Obama is nominated). - MacEnvy, on 02/10/2008, -1/+30That's it. Reported for spamming. I've had enough of you. I've seen that copy/paste at least a dozen times in the last week from you, and I'm just going to start reporting it as spam. If you don't have anything to add to the discussion don't hit submit.
We need better troll controls on digg. It's getting out of hand. - Jordan117, on 02/10/2008, -11/+40So glad you took Obama's plea for tolerance, civility, and mutual respect to heart.
- tchynerd, on 02/10/2008, -1/+30Good to hear for the both of you. Yay for tolerance!
- inactive, on 02/10/2008, -3/+30Guy is a genius politician, might be a game changer if he wins.
- blackjack75, on 02/10/2008, -0/+27There's one sentence about it. And he's the only candidate (remaining) that has the ball to mention us as group equal to others. Of course to get elected in America you _have_ to keep repeating "I am a christian, I go to church every Sunday", and he usually does. But still it's refreshing to see how smart and open-minded he is.
- ZenMojo, on 02/10/2008, -3/+30A little annoyed at the tribalism expressed at the statement (although I didn't digg it down). We need an Atheist in office, we need a Jew in office, we need a Mormon in office, we need an Aborigine in office, we need an Asian in office, etc. While the idea that only white guys have been in office is frustrating, it's not as if a white Protestant male can't carry out the concerns of the electorate.
- fnv2001, on 02/10/2008, -6/+33Barack Obama has done something which I thought was unthinkable: He has made me care deeply about a political candidate.
- dn11, on 02/10/2008, -5/+31You should listen more often and more closely in that case! just because he uses political slogans again and again to get people "fired up" doesn't mean he is without substance - he just knows that he has to speak to different audience at different times with different tones. His "substance" - such as what you see in this speech - would be lost on the masses
-
Show 51 - 100 of 867 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is