As far as I know, Senator Liberman has been able to keep his religious beliefs separate from his job. I've not heard major complaints about him, but I have heard serious complaints about Ashcroft.
I have no reason to think that Senator Lieberman hasn't been able to keep his religious beliefs separate from his job, either. But I sure had a problem with his remarks at the time of his nomination. The attitude he expressed is bad enough coming from the right but from the left, the party of diversity, it is outrageous. Shortly afterward, William Raspberry wrote a column defending Lieberman. Here are some excerpts from my letter to Raspberry.
...Seculars can be scorned with impunity. It's not even "politically incorrect." Just last week a candidate for Vice President from the party of diversity said that seculars were unsuited for governance--that governance requires the morals that can only come from faith in a deity...
Inbedded in the cavalier expectation of the majority that their vocalized prayers belong everywhere is a thoughtless disdain for the non-religious as second-class citizens. The every-day bigotry of a majority that is feeling its oats is pernicious. Surely you understand what it's like to be casually dissed by people who think, for no good reason, that you're somehow less than they are. Seculars can be good friends, good neighbors, and good citizens just like everyone else...
I can understand that in some American sub-cultures, those where religion is prominent, the non-religious are the dregs of society. But there are whole communities of people for whom belief in spirits is alien and unnecessary. Few of my friends believe in a creator/diety, and none attends religious services. They are good people--moral, thoughtful, upstanding citizens and worthy friends.
During my lifetime, I have experienced bigotry as a woman, an ethnic minority, and a secular. They all hurt and they're all wrong. They're also non-constructive. It would be better to focus on "the content of character" and ethics of our citizens and elected officials than to fixate on the source from which the individual derives them. |
