A Day for Democracy's Faithful
I don't believe in a god, but I believe in something equally as improbable and audacious. No, not Obama. American democracy.
There is no higher power, but we have our common power. No heaven, but the rich Earth. And the promise of America.
This is my faith. It saves me, as it does millions like me, in the same way religions save their devout followers.
Yet my faith, like that of many readers of HuffPost, has been shaken to its roots in the last decade.
It wasn't that the country was merely being misgoverned, or that Wall Street had run wild. It wasn't just Mission Accomplished or Abu Ghraib or Katrina or Enron or Abramoff or any one of the dozens of transgressions we all find it so easy to name.
It was more fundamental than that. It cut to our common bone. At times, it seemed as if the whole enterprise of America was creeping to a dark conclusion. Not a darkness that ends in mass destruction, but mass indifference. A blankness in the eyes. As Elie Wiesel wrote years ago: "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference... The opposite of life is not death, it's indifference."
As Inauguration Day so well symbolizes: to hell with indifference. A black man swearing on Lincoln's Bible to protect and defend a Constitution that didn't deem men like him worthy of citizenship. The peaceful transfer of power, as Bush and his grim legacy were helicoptered away. The soaring songs: "Air and Simple Gifts"; Aretha exhaling "From every mountainside, let freedom ring." Elizabeth Alexander: "In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun."
One of Obama's more poetic sentences contained not so much a beginning as much as a continuation of the scripture of America:
The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
Faith restored.
But as the history of our country so well proves, the promise of freedom and equality is not God-given but reaffirmed through the sweat and blood of generation after generation of democracy's devout believers.
Such devotion, such faith, only seems implausible when indifference reigns.
Now it's up to all of us to make sure the audacity of American democracy continues to overcome such indifference.
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sounds like there are a few here that may have read a little J. Krishnamurti in the past? you know......
It is gratifying to read that not all Americans feel constrained to be god-botherers. Also that you have the freedom to declare this fact. During the run-up to the elections there were an inordinate amount of comments in Huffpost declaring that it was god's will to do this that and the other. Despite the belief that America is a democracy an outsider could be forgiven for thinking America was a theocracy.
The right, nay the demand of the people that pastors of various shades of Christianity to take upon themselves such huge, self-righteous and none too bright 'men of god?' in the presidential process gave the viewer the impression they were witnessing a re-run of the papal inauguration.
Good Riddance!
The time for tom foolishness, exclusiveness, and pompous bravado are over.
The time for bilking the naïve and dishonestly accumulating wealth beyond one’s needs, causing great distress and hardship to others by so doing, may be drawing to a close.
The time for pretense and ignorance and malevolence may be finished.
The time for supreme selfishness is certainly in need of expiration.
The time of using patriotism as a weapon to silence protest and subjugate non-believers should definitely end.
The very existence and a bright future for the United States of America depend on the passing away of these things.
Well said! I have been trying to figure out why I've been so weepy over all the amazing events this past year. From the moment he won the caucus in my great state of Iowa, my faith in my fellow citizens and my beloved country has gradually been restored. I am one of those non-believers that Obama mentioned (woohoo!), but I think I now get how religious people feel. Thank you for putting what I've felt into words.
I would like to point out the real foundation of your article. You say we were creeping toward a darkness of indifference in America. I would argue that the darkness we were creping toward was a FAITH fueled darkness of exclusion and intolerance. There has been a lot of yapping about Faith and religion by Americas presidents in the past 30 years but as we can clearly see ALL of their administrations -EVERY ONE - were mired in Sin, corruption, selfishness, dishonesty, and greed. You know, all of the qualities that real Christians are not supposed to have..... Every one of those administrations called on God's guidance through innaugural invocation and regular prayer meetings and what exactly did all of that prayer do for the world? Well, tell me.
I think the greatest thing Presdient Obama indirectly stated was that Faith is good but that NO group, religious or non-religious has a monopoly on decency, patriotism, innovation and commitment. We need EVERY group working together. You must RESPECT every groups right to believe what they wish and if you do not then you are just part of the Darkness, part of the indifference, part of the FAILURE in America and not part of its Hope.
We dont need FAITH, we need honest, objective, impartial, unbiased, fair and intelligent ACTIONS from our nations leaders. FAITH accomplishes NOTHING -this we have clearly seen. ACTION accomplishes everything and ACTION and indifference are mutually incompatible whereas FAITH and indifference are mutually supporting.
I see many of your readers were smart enough to notice what you did not even mention -the clear and unique mention of non-believers in Obama's speech. You say you are a non-believer and yet your article quotes some Religious quote by Obama. Thats cool, since he is a believer but you did not even menttion that he also referred to the people listed below as just as important to the foundation of america as any other group.
We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; Quoted from his speech
"Jews and Hindus--and non-believ
Obama may not be a non-believer but at least he RESPECTS the rights of non-believers and that fact right tehre sets him apart from Social Conservatives and religious crazies. For that reason and others I respect President Obama's fairness, inclusiveness and objectivity.
I'm glad I believe in something beyond this world, Nick. Unlike you, things would feel rather futile if I thought "this is all there is." Even if I had Obama's exciting life, I would ask, "Is that it?" I used to think people who had metaphysical encounters were perhaps nuts. I know now it's really a strange and wonderful place, this universe. There's more to it than meets the eye.
I'm glad I don't believe in Hell, Dukedraven. Unlike you, I would be really unhappy if I believed that most people would spend an eternity after death in suffering and torment and loss and regret. However, since I don't believe in an afterlife, I don't have to deal with any of that.
Sure, there's more to the universe than meets the eye. However, it is the height of arrogance and ignorance to think that Bronze Age view of the cosmos is no more likely to be accurate or true in any meaningful sense than the fever-inspired nightmares of an eight-year-old.
Obama and I are both passing on a better America to the next generation. Are you saying that's only meaningful if we're all the playthings of a cruel cosmic consciousness?
The answer to your question "is this all there is?" would be, "Isn't this enough? What else do you want?" I can't imagine anything in heaven more magnificent than the Mogollon Rim which I can see from my back patio. I can't imagine any heavenly love more profound than that I have for my earthly family, and they for me. And if there are greater things in heaven, I won't feel cheated. Life is good. Good enough for me. I don't deserve more...or less, for that matter.
The universe is an endless cycle of creation and destruction, and as a part of the universe mankind has followed that same pattern. So, too, has the history of America followed a pattern of violence and renewal. The physical existence of Obama is a merger of the exploited black man and the exploiting white man
His words ring with the white man’s idealism, but so, too, does his body carries the genes of those who suffered the many failures of the white man’s words. It is as if in Obama national deeds have finally caught up with national promises. And the angels on high sing out, God bless America.
As a non-believer, GREAT POST!! The Bible is a fairy tale, just like the Kuran and the Torah. Don't mean to demean anyone, but it is time for all ideas to exist side by side and for people with a voice not connected to religion to be raised up as well.
Please get it right! We are NOT A Democracy! Please read The Constitution Article IV, Section 4 "The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government"
Listen, you and I know we are not a democracy, but this has become so ingrained in American thinking (because republicanism is no longer taught in schools) that it has become a self fulfilling prophecy. Sadly, the rule of law is out and mob rule is in. Get used to it.
Actually it is YOU that is WRONG. By any definition of these words America is BOTH but a Democracy and a Republic. America meets the full and complete definition of a DEMOCRACY so therfore America is a Democracy that is subsequently a Republic since a Republic by definition is a watered down version of a democracy.
Democracy is a form of government in which power is held by " the people" under a free electoral system. Source: Wikipedia
A republic is a state or country that is not led by a hereditary monarch but in which the people (or at least a part of its people) have an impact on its government. Source: Wikipedia
Republic
1. a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.
2. any body of persons viewed as a commonwealth.
3. a state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state.
Source: Dictionary
democracy
  1. government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
2. a state having such a form of government: The United States and Canada are democracies.
3. a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges.
4. political or social equality; democratic spirit.
This is the problem when you rely on Wikipedia for your history. Read what the framers of the constitution said about democracy. We are NOT a democracy in any form. We ARE a republic. You see, a democracy relies on majority rule to govern. The writers of the constitution loathed this idea, as this type of governance is nothing more than mob rule. As examples I provide just a few quotes on democracy:
"We are a Republican Government. Real liberty is never found in despotism or in the extremes of Democracy.
-- Alexander Hamilton
"Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."
-- John Adams
"A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine
-- Thomas Jefferson
We are a republic, which establishes the rule of law as our form of governance. Just because we hold elections does not make us a democracy.
For the first time in history a President mentioned non-believers in a public speech and included them as one of the respected faiths of which the diversity of America is composed. This almost throw away mention may come to be seen as one of the most important statements in his speech. This is a step toward the inclusion of a group that has been more maligned than any group in American history. Let's hope that the spirit in inclusion it suggests is allowed to take hold and allow non-believers to be heard all though American life.
Bingo, that really jumped out. The media, of course, ignored it. It's nice to know he knows we exist. We'll be the last minority granted access to open political discourse, much less elected office. But I have a dream.
DuPageDem - I have the same dream. I'm 67 and have been a non-believer since I was in grade school. MY dream is a time when minds evolve enough to realize this is the only life we have and stop killing each other just because their Bronze-age stories of gods and myths don't match. This could be heaven - our life on this planet - if we worshipped it and each other! But I'm smart enough to know if that should ever happen, it will be eons from now. I hope a far more evolved alien life form drops in soon to show us how ignorant we are. Obama's mother was an atheist (as was my father, who didn't tell me until he was on his death bed) and I'm sure Obma has a modicum of her influence. And, of course -- he's a far more evolved mind than most. (for all we know, he's a doubter or a closet agnostic). I was ELATED to feel included in that short phrase. We are the last minority to be recognized!
Nick, that musical composition was an arrangement by John Williams of a piece by Aaron Copeland.
Otherwise, nice post!
Like Williams, Copland used "Simple Gifts" but did not write it--it was composed in 1848 by Shaker Elder Joseph Brackett, Jr.
The melody was also used for Sydney Carter's "Lord of the Dance" (1963).
Thanks, Zanti. I was relying on what I heard on TV... which, by now, I should know better than to do!
And I seem to recall that it was the theme song of some CBS show in the sixties. Was it "The 20th Century"? Or one of Murrow's programs?
Actually, the relationship between John Williams, Aaron Copland, and the Quaker dance "Simple Gifts" is complex and profound. John Williams composed (not arranged) the quartet we heard on Inauguration Day, for that event; in it, he makes a musical reference to Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring," which in turn quotes the Quaker piece. For a short (~500 word) analysis of this quartet, and the way it so beautifully embodies the emotional content of this historic moment, please see http://www
Thanks!
I remember the same feelings, just sixteen years ago from this day.
But, then we had Ruby Ridge, and Waco, we had Mark Rich, and Monica. We had UN Sanctions and a half a million innocent Iraqis starved to death - for what? Because of the Chemical weapons that President Clinton and Vice President Gore assured us were there.
Obama is right. It's time to put away childish things.
LOOK AROUND bush was a war criminal and murdered 1000s and 1000s and 1000s of innocent men women and children ... give clinton a break - he didnt come close with his policies to destroy all that we stand for ... and he didnt run around telling us that g*d told him to do it
Great post!
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