Obama Mentions Nonbelievers Again

Yay! Thanks for the shout-out President O.

This is the kind of thing that won him the peace prize. Small-seeming things that nobody else is willing to say or do.

Yeah, it’s great that he acknowledges there are nonbelievers in fox holes and that this guy went after anyone of any religion but what’s he doing about all the problems within the military that discriminate and harass non-Christians.

Frankly, that situation plays into this one. Also, he was apparently trying to get out of the Army and do we really want soldiers not willing to fight. That does not make for a strong army.

I’m not envying any Muslim soldiers after this. They are gonna be the ones facing the backlash. We will, any non-Christians will, but they are going to be specifically targeted and have a lot of hatred directed at them for what one did.

Hell, what’s he doing period? I’m getting pretty impatient with waiting for the promised change.

I’m still wondering how exactly he qualifies for the peace prize. He hasn’t even got us out of there yet. Just talked about it.

I noticed yesterday that he stated that “our thoughts are with the soldiers/families/etc”. Not “we pray for” but “our thoughts are with”. Thank you, President. “Our thoughts” is a ways to speak as the leader of ALL Americans… not just those of us who pray.

There’s a difference between doing something right and not doing something wrong. Obama’s words fall into the latter category.

This is the kind of thing that won him the peace prize.

The pathetic thing is that this is actually true. Never mind that he’s been dragging his feet and breaking promises on getting out of Iraq, expanding the war in Afghanistan, launching a whole new offensive (in the most literal sense of that word) of death from the skies in Pakistan, reneging on closing Gitmo by the end of the year, using the so-called State Secrets Privilege to defend the use of torture, expanding the Patriot Act, telling the Supreme Court that he doesn’t believe that there is a Constitutional right not to be framed for murder (in an amicus brief in McGhee-Harrington case), etc., etc., because those things don’t matter as long as he quotes accurate demographic statistics now and then.

As Peter Brierley told Tony Blair, “I’m not shaking your hand, you’ve got blood on it.” At this point, thanking Obama for something so pathetically small as this is not at all different from a battered woman forgiving her abusive husband because he bought her flowers and promised it’d never happen again.

Lol never the buddhists with him, huh?

Check out the comments at the linked article. As usual, full of neo-“conservative” nut jobs who actually believe that Obama “hates America”.

He didn’t mention us Buddhists 🙁
But since I fall into the “non-believer” category, I don’t really mind

I admire his efforts to make the “non-theists” a part of the American fabric. Being the son of an atheist mother, he’s doing his best to put forth some sense of equality for us all. If his efforts seem stifled, it’s only because of the MASSIVE theistic base that currently exists in the White House. He’s trying not to rock the boat, so to speak…..some may think that’s not enough. I’m just glad he’s acknowledging us At All.

Gabriel, in a comment above MikeTheInfidel asserted that he wished to offer you no offence in what followed, i cannot begin on the same footing. MikeTheInfidel points out a logical fallacy in your comment. Unfortunately, his example is but one of at least three. Firstly, you assert “Do something better than the president and you will have standing until then you are just an anonymous person on the internet”. Doing something better is an exceptionally subjective concept. Taking no action could logically be considered better than a disasterous one. Therefore if anyone contends that President Obama has acted negligently or against American interests then, even by your own standard, irrespective of what they have done, they have the right to criticize. Moreover, by any commonly understood definition of democracy, a citizen has the absolute right to hold their representatives to account irrespective of their own status or disposition, assuming they have not given up their rights through unlawful actions. Many would see the Presidency as the most challenging role imaginable. Moreover, the Presidency comes with the most leverage of power. Therefore it is logical to assert that no one has the potential or power to “do better” than the President. Thus, by your contention, no one should criticize him. Secondly, you may have not noticed that this is an atheist community. The cornerstone of atheist philosophy is rationale thinking. For you to assert without any knowledge of the people who communicate here that we are “probably living in [our] parents garage or basement because [we] are too noble to work and support [ourselves]” is the kind of illogical, idiotic nonsense better kept for the rather hollow interior of your cranium. If you have a disagreement with a contributor, formulate a response worthy of this forum rather then degrade it with such crap otherwise you just look like a moron. Your service should be respected, your stupid opinions should not

…he deserves our appreciation when he does something right.

Appreciation for a President doing something right? Is that not his job?

What has he done? Why does he deserve the noble prize? Here is a question. What have you done? What are you doing? Does it amount to more than sitting in your room in your parents house writing on blogs? Do something better than the president and you will have standing until then you are just an anonymous person on the internet, probably living in your parents garage or basement because you are too noble to work and support yourself.

I note that you were totally unable to answer the first two questions. I wonder why. Could it be that you too do not know? That you’re as mystified as everyone else why he was handed the thing on a silver platter without earning it?

I’ll tell you what I haven’t done: I haven’t run for President. Why when I see so much that could change for the better in the US? Because, frankly, I’m not qualified to do the job and could not handle it — so, even if I could win, I wouldn’t run.

I also do not see myself as deserving of a Nobel Prize precisely because I have done nothing to earn it. If it were offered to me, I’d turn it down for that very reason. This is what Obama should have done since he has also done nothing to earn it.

As for living in parents’ basement, etc.: No, I’m 51 years of age and have been working for a living since I was 16; semi-supporting myself at 16, fully supporting myself from 18 on. Thank you very much. Probably longer than you’ve freaking been alive. Least ways, that was a very naive assumption that makes you sound rather wet behind the ears.

As for having standing, I and every citizen of this country has standing to approve or disapprove of our President as we see fit. This is the United States of America.

Do you not even know what you defended (if you really are a veteran)?

I feel like there’s a false “words VS things that matter” dichotomy going on here. Through his words, the president has shown respect for us, one of the least respected groups in the nation. True, words need to be backed up with actions. But words and other means of exchanging ideas are on the forefront of changing the way we are percieved. Words are the ways that actions are inspired and prejudices are changed.

After a months-long application process, my officer commission paperwork is in processing as I type this. If I am granted the commission, it will be an honor to serve under a president that recognizes my personal value as equal to a theist’s. Just as uplifting the president’s words were, it would have been equally degrading to serve under George HW “neither citizens nor patriots” Bush.

The president’s words are not enough to secure our rights in a nation that trusts us least of any other group. However, his words are a big start, and I hope that they will be the impetus for both a change in policy and a change in the perceptions and prejudices of the citizenry.

For years we rightly complain about being invisible to our political leadership. Now someone shows that we are visible, that we do count, makes the effort to show it again and again. And what do we do? We complain about his word choice, or suspect his word order shows too much premeditation, or shrug it off and “Yeah, but…” our way into the next complaint, and the next.

This kind of ungenerous response makes me think we damn well deserve the margin we’re stuck in.