Bush's America: Part 2

American Outlook ^ | January 19, 2005 | Jeffrey T. Bergner

[quidnunc]

The 18th century French philosopher Diderot called America "an asylum against fanaticism and tyranny." Today many of my European friends seem to agree that America may well be an asylum, but not in the better sense of that word. Indeed, they purport to see an America which itself shows signs of fanaticism at home and an overbearing, if not tyrannical, stance toward the rest of the world. And George Bush's solid re-election victory may confirm many Europeans in that view.

These fears are misplaced. As we make our way forward — and with effort on both sides of the Atlantic — we should do so on the basis of sound and realistic understandings of one another. In that spirit, let me offer some reassurances about George Bush's America.

First, America has not become a land of fanaticism, religious or otherwise. Americans tend to hold deep religious views, to be sure, and these are expressed in many different faiths. Moreover, religious faith moves Americans to raise moral issues in the public arena in a way which is unusual in Europe. But Americans have not lost their abiding conviction that both religion and government are better served by separation from one another. Despite breathless "exposes" of faith-based politics in the 2004 campaign, I cannot think of a single instance where any candidate for a major political office crossed the long-standing line of separation between politics and faith. The multiplicity of strongly held faiths continues to produce as its fruit a deeply ingrained sense of tolerance among Americans of all political stripes.

-snip-

[quidnunc]

This article appeared in Welt am Sonntag (Germany) on January 15, 2004.

[Soul Seeker]

ping to self

[7.62 x 51mm]

F*ck the rest of the self-absorbed, liberal-progressive-socialist-commie-nazi-fascist world. Wait until your "9-11 Massacre" comes, and then you can talk to me. Until then, 'eff off.