As stated by John Adams in 1797:
"As the Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion--as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility of Musselmen--and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."
It seems to me that the overall tone of US foreign politics was significantly more civilized three hundred years ago than now.
Apparently not only the Arabic world is degenerating from a state where major contributions were made by the invention of the language of mathematics, progress in architecture, construction, poetry and art to the current un-constructive religious mad-hattery of Islamic nations, but the US is close behind in its pursuit of Dogma as one Nation under God.
Democracy and Freedom my ass. John Adams must be spinning in his grave. So must Jefferson seeing as how he once quipped "It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."
Posted by Chris at October 16, 2008 01:47 PM