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A precedent from
the President
Roy
Speckhardt reflects for G&LH
on how his country’s new President – Barack
Obama – is “living proof that family values
without religion build character”.
The
American Humanist Association (AHA)
placed a prominent ad in both editions of
the special inauguration issue of the
Washington Post, praising the
nonreligious upbringing of President
Barack Obama.
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©
American Humanist Association |
“President Obama: Living
Proof that Family Values Without Religion
Build Character”, the ad read. It went on to
quote from Obama’s own account of his
upbringing in his 2006 book, The
Audacity of Hope. In his 1995 book,
Dreams from My Father, Obama had
written that his mother stood alone in her
community as a “witness for secular
humanism”.
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©
American Humanist Association |
We hear so much these
days about how traditional religious family
values are necessary for raising moral
children who can grow into accomplished
adults.
But we humanists have
known for a long, long time that ethical
humanist values build character. The number
of moral and accomplished humanists is
legion. We’ve been honouring the greatest of
them every year since 1953 at our annual
conferences.
Now, Barack Obama has
given us the opportunity to share this truth
with those from around the country who came
to our nation’s capital to share in the
inauguration experience.
The AHA had earlier
teamed with Michael
Newdow and others to launch a lawsuit
aimed at preventing sectarian religious
observances at the inaugural ceremonies. In
January, before Obama’s inauguration, a US
District Court judge declined to enjoin
those activities. Litigants won’t appeal
that ruling, but the case will nonetheless
continue through the courts because
litigants still seek to impact future
inaugural ceremonies.
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©
American Humanist Association |
Also, together with other
nontheistic organisations, the AHA has asked
Barack Obama to decline any offer of the
honorary presidency of the Boy Scouts of
America until the BSA ceases to discriminate
against atheists and agnostics.
Throughout Obama’s
presidency and beyond, the American Humanist
Association will stand on its principles,
holding the president’s feet to the fire
when necessary and supporting him when we
agree. While we understand how necessary it
is for politicians to compromise, we also
realise how vital it is that organisations
like ours remain steadfast in their
positions.
Roy
Speckhardt is the executive director
of the
American Humanist Association (AHA),
which advocates for the rights and
viewpoints of humanists. Founded in 1941 and
headquartered in Washington, DC, the AHA
extends its work through more than 100 local
chapters and affiliates across America. It
advocates Humanism as a progressive
philosophy of life that, without theism,
affirms our responsibility to lead ethical
lives of value to self and humanity.
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Related
Links
A
full-sized image of the ad is
available online:
Click
here for a
high-resolution copy,
or
here for a low-resolution
copy.
“Morality
without the mojo”. |
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