Thursday, May 18, 2017

A truly religious nation is a tolerant nation



For my birthday several years ago, Patty gave me a book, Flyboys: A True Story of Courage, by James Bradley.  It was a story, generally, of pilots in World War II, more specifically, in the Pacific Theater, and more specifically still, those who attacked a Japanese radar station on the small island of Chichi Jima, in preparation for the landing on the nearby island of Iwo Jima.

Bradley interviewed surviving Japanese prison guards for his book.  They spoke in amazement of a submarine surfacing off the island to rescue a pilot that had been shot down before he could be captured.  That pilot was future President of the United States, George H.W. Bush.

President Bush spent his entire adult life in service of his country.  . He served two terms as a Representative to Congress from Texas. Twice he ran unsuccessfully for the Senate. Then he was appointed to a series of high-level positions: Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the U. S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.  He served as Ronald Reagan’s Vice President and finally as President of the United States.

President Bush sought to make the United States a “kinder and gentler nation.”[1]   His service to his Country appears to be a natural outcome of his religion, and his “thousand points of light” initiative.

He also spoke about the truly American value:  Freedom of Religion:

"The values that spring from our faith certainly tell us a lot about our country. And consider that for more than two centuries Americans have endorsed, and properly so, the separation of church and state. But we've also shown how both religion and government can strengthen a society. After all, our Founding Fathers' documents begin with these words: All men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. And Americans are religious people, but a truly religious nation is a tolerant nation. We cherish dissent, we cherish the fact that we have many, many faiths, and we protect even the right to disbelieve." -- Remarks at the Annual National Prayer Breakfast, 1 February 1990.[2]

A truly religious nation is a tolerant nation.  Amen, President Bush.[3]



[3] Saturday, I’ll reprint extended remarks by President Bush on tolerance made during the 1992 presidential campaign.

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