Published: November 25, 2009 01:52 am      

LETTERS: November 25, 2009

Reader has issues with Obama letter



A recent letter to the editor by Mr. Quentin R. Davis, of Clarksville, in the Nov. 11 Evening News states several things with which I disagree. However, there is not enough space to handle them all, so I will deal with the ones that upset me the most.

Mr. Davis begins his letter with the following lines, citing text from Obama’s book, “The Audacity of Hope.”

“We are no longer a Christian nation ...” — Barack Obama

“I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.” — Barack Obama, “Audacity of Hope”

The two quotes do not appear together in the book as the letter writer subtly implies. I would like to put those quotes in context, because, I believe, it is important not only to have a correct quote, but to also understand its meaning.

The first quote appears on page 218 of “The Audacity of Hope,” in the chapter titled, “Faith.” The contents of the chapter leading up to the quote speak about our founders, Patrick Henry, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin and modern day ministers. The paragraph which includes the quote speaks about our religious freedoms, the absence of a state-sponsored church and the diversity of America’s population and religions. This is the actual quote from the book:

“Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation, we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation and a nation of unbelievers.”

The text of that chapter then goes on through page 226, discussing religion in politics in a pluralistic democracy.

For the second quote that Mr. Davis cites at the beginning of his letter, he attributes it to Obama’s book, “The Audacity of Hope.” This is another misrepresentation of the written text.

Beginning on page 227, the chapter titled “Race,” tells about immigrants from many counties that President Obama has seen and met during his life in Chicago and on the campaign trail.

“Indian markets along Devon Avenue, in a sparkling new mosque in the southwest suburbs, in an Armenian wedding and a Filipino Ball, in the meetings of the Korean American Leadership Council and the Nigerian Engineers Association.”

He states on page 261: “Of course, not all of my conversations in the immigrant communities follow this easy pattern. In wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging.

“They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific assurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.”

This is the quote that Davis misstates in his opening. There are other items in the article that are either false or misleading, but I don’t have time nor patience to tear the rest of his article apart.

I would just caution people reading the rest of his article, or anything else written by this man, to check its veracity very, very carefully.

— L.C. Eckert, Jeffersonville