former President George W. Bush

Just read this phrase for the FIRST time!!!

Chris OConnor wrote:When he mentioned "non-believers" I felt so relieved and happy. Atheists have been treated like outcasts for so long.

I know. It was a big step...I downplayed it a bit in my earlier post. Has any other President ever said this?

I hope he can remain a positive force and I hope he is not attacked by the right wing press as retribution for the rightful attacks on Bush the past 8 years!! Some may disagree that the attacks on Bush were justified, but they were.

Chris OConnor wrote:
When he mentioned "non-believers" I felt so relieved and happy. Atheists have been treated like outcasts for so long.


I know. It was a big step...I downplayed it a bit in my earlier post. Has any other President ever said this?

I also noted that phrase when I heard it, and I think it augurs well, that some of the taboos are going to be broken.
I don't know if any American president said this before, but it would be surprising if they had. I remember George Bush saying several times that anybody who came to America could practise the religion of his choice, and he always sounded so pleased with himself, as if the idea that I might want to go to America and not practise any religion at all was something that would never enter his mind.

Obama also mentioned gays among the list of people he wanted to bring together, in his speech on January 18th. I also thought this was a reason to hope, and again I can't imagine George Bush saying something like this. Sorry, my reference is in French, perhaps someone else can find the quote in English.

Rassembler tout le monde, démocrates, républicains et indépendants, latinos, asiatiques et natifs d'Amérique, noirs et blancs, gays et hétéros, handicapés ou non, alors, non seulement nous restaurerons l'espoir dans l'Amérique, mais peut-être, nous perfectionnerons notre union à cette occasion» .

I can translate it but I couldn't find the quote in the speech. Darn it.

odd, I just read over the MTV "full" version of the speech at the link above and I could not find this quote either.

It was a Jan 18 speech at the Lincoln Memorial

http://www.bilerico.com/2009/01/barack_ ... n_memo.php

what gives me the greatest hope of all is not the stone and marble that surrounds us today, but what fills the spaces in between. It is you - Americans of every race and region and station who came here because you believe in what this country can be and because you want to help us get there. It is the same thing that gave me hope from the day we began this campaign for the presidency nearly two years ago; a belief that if we could just recognize ourselves in one another and bring everyone together - Democrats, Republicans, and Independents; Latino, Asian, and Native American; black and white, gay and straight, disabled and not - then not only would we restore hope and opportunity in places that yearned for both, but maybe, just maybe, we might perfect our union in the process.

Chris OConnor wrote:When he mentioned "non-believers" I felt so relieved and happy. Atheists have been treated like outcasts for so long.

Yes, a positive thing. Too bad he couldn't have also ended the tradition of closing every speech with "God bless America!," or at least add to it "and the world."

DWill wrote:Yes, a positive thing. Too bad he couldn't have also ended the tradition of closing every speech with "God bless America!,"

He's a Chistian though. I am not a Christian myself, but I can understand how it is his faith that guides him and keeps him strong. I am a non believer but I respect that he is a believer and that it is an important part of who he is. I don't think that he should omit that from his speech simply because not everybody shares his views, and to please Athiests when he is not an Athiest himself. It's not as though he's imposing his Christian views on the US through law so I feel that he should be allowed to keep this.

I truly believe that the next barrier is getting a leader that is not Christian or Jewish. Here is a stupid question: Are there in any branch of federal government that is Muslim or Buddhist or of any other faith?

There is one publicly atheist congressperson from California ( can't remember his name) and there is a Muslim from Minnesota and...there might be one from Oregon, she ran but I don't remember if she won. I think she did. These are all state elected but serve in the U.S. Congress, is that federal enough for you? Sorry I can't remember any of their names.