Another Sweaty Sabbath for Obama

Now that the fervor surrounding the election has died down, journalists have gone back to covering the important issues in the news: the economic crisis, the environmental crisis, the housing crisis, the international war on terrorism, Obama's cabinet picks, the unemployment problem, and health care issues. Right? Haven't they? Apparently not. As reported in Politico and then picked up by USA Today, the media is exposing yet another crisis; and this time, it's a crisis in faith.

Yes, the big news today is that Obama has spent the last few Sundays at the gym instead of in the pews. An Obama aide explained that the president-elect does not want to burden local churches with the overwhelming attendance that his presence might attract. But who cares? Like most Americans, Obama does not attend services every Sunday (statistics). USA Today is hopeful that he will honor his commitment to visit church once a month, with the November 30 deadline looming. Is this really the pivotal issue facing our country? Whether or not the president is a frequent Christian?

It's dreadful to realize that to garner respect in the United States, one must believe in magic, fairy tales, and irrational rites that guarantee a spot in heaven in the hereafter. One could reasonably argue, I think, that such focus on worlds outside our reality would preclude the president from concentrating fully on resolving the issues facing this world. What harm would befall America if an atheist president took office? What crisis of faith would plague Americans if a non-secular president upheld freedom of religion and separation of church and state? I'm an ethical atheist. I abhor the terms "agnostic" and "humanist," which hint at some other supernatural belief system. I look at it this way: this world is all I've got. Why wouldn't I want it to be as pleasant as possible? Why would I want disease and famine and crime and death? If I don't believe in God, why would I somehow align myself with the Devil? I don't believe in hell, either, except the hell other people create on this planet with the hate and violence they practice in the name of God.

The media outlets need to get back into the business of reporting the news, not protracted examinations on what Obama does on Sundays. What's next? Closing down every Red Lobster because they serve shellfish?

Republicans voted for George Bush and John McCain because they believed all that hogwash about being just like them. Well, the majority of this country doesn't practice or pander to the evangelical fringes embraced by Bush and McCain. And they don't go worship in church every Sabbath. So, once again, isn't Obama more like us average people anyway? Until all Americans act upon the message of Jesus and live in the spirit of his teachings, we have no right to call this a Christian nation. But in a country founded on freedom of religion, we should pride ourselves on being a nation under any god.