- Playing
- Commentary: Less God-Talk, Please
- From
- Dick Meister
About 90 percent of the population holds religious beliefs, and they're welcome to them. But it's time they quit pushing them on the 10 percent of the population that is not religious. What's needed most is for politicians to stop currying majority favor by mouthing those ritualistic paeans to a God that many of us don't believe in. At least President Obama has acknowledged the existence of non-believers, as no other president has ever done. But even so, he's no less a God-talker than others in political life.
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Piece Description
About 90 percent of the population holds religious beliefs, and they're welcome to them. But it's time they quit pushing them on the 10 percent of the population that is not religious. What's needed most is for politicians to stop currying majority favor by mouthing those ritualistic paeans to a God that many of us don't believe in. At least President Obama has acknowledged the existence of non-believers, as no other president has ever done. But even so, he's no less a God-talker than others in political life.
Broadcast History
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Transcript
OK, I know the odds are against me -- about nine to one against me as a matter of fact ... nine to one being the ratio between believers and non-believers in our supposedly secular country. But even so, let me ask -- please -- that the 90 percent of you who hold religious beliefs quit pushing them on me and the rest of the 10 percent of the population who simply do not share those beliefs.
Now, if you won't ease up on the constant public references to your God and to similar matters for the sake of tolerance, then do it, won't you, for the sake of that legal business about the separation of church and state.
Or be selfish and do for the sake of your religion. Surely it's cheapened by the ritualistic and hypocritical references to the Almighty by politicians and others in public life who are trying to gain favor with the majority the easy way.
Look, all I'm asking it that you take a...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Commentator Dick Meister says let's get God out of politics ...
OUTRO:Dick Meister is a San Francisco-based writer.
Lico Miller
Posted on February 01, 2009 at 03:56 PM | Permalink
decent
not original but good delivery