Re: Education versus Propaganda
Ken Arromdee (arromdee@jyusenkyou.cs.jhu.edu)
14 Aug 1995 01:19:23 -0400
In article <40me8v$8a5@crl2.crl.com>,
Laurence A. Moore <larrymor@crl.com> wrote:
>>> For example, George Bush declared at one point that he didn't
>>> think that atheists should be considered citizens of the
>>> United States.
>> Does anyone have a reference on this?
>Here are the two closest I found:
This is from the alt.atheism FAQ:
The following exchange took place at the Chicago airport between Robert I.
Sherman of American Atheist Press and George Bush, on August 27 1988. Sherman
is a fully accredited reporter, and was present by invitation as a member of
the press corps. The Republican presidential nominee was there to announce
federal disaster relief for Illinois. The discussion turned to the presiden-
tial primary:
RS: "What will you do to win the votes of Americans who are atheists?"
GB: "I guess I'm pretty weak in the atheist community. Faith in God is
important to me."
RS: "Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans
who are atheists?"
GB: "No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor
should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."
RS: "Do you support as a sound constitutional principle the separation of
state and church?"
GB: "Yes, I support the separation of church and state. I'm just not very high
on atheists."
UPI reported on May 8, 1989, that various atheist organizations were still an-
gry over the remarks.
The exchange appeared in the Boulder Daily Camera on Monday February 27, 1989.
It can also be found in "Free Inquiry" magazine, Fall 1988 issue, Volume 8,
Number 4, page 16.
On October 29, 1988, Mr. Sherman had a confrontation with Ed Murnane, co-
chairman of the Bush-Quayle '88 Illinois campaign. This concerned a lawsuit
Mr. Sherman had filed to stop the Community Consolidated School District 21
(Chicago, Illinois) from forcing his first-grade atheist son to pledge allegi-
ance to the flag of the United States as "one nation under God" (Bush's
phrase). The following conversation took place:
RS: "American Atheists filed the Pledge of Allegiance lawsuit yesterday. Does
the Bush campaign have an official response to this filing?"
EM: "It's bullshit."
RS: "What is bullshit?"
EM: "Everything that American Atheists does, Rob, is bullshit."
RS: "Thank you for telling me what the official position of the Bush campaign
is on this issue."
EM: "You're welcome."
After Bush's election, American Atheists wrote to Bush asking him to retract
his statement. On February 21st 1989, C. Boyden Gray, Counsel to the
President, replied on White House stationery that Bush substantively stood by
his original statement, and wrote:
As you are aware, the President is a religious man who neither supports athe-
ism nor believes that atheism should be unnecessarily encouraged or supported
by the government."
--
Ken Arromdee (email: arromdee@jyusenkyou.cs.jhu.edu)
"How can you be so evil, Kayura?"
"The pay is good and there's lots of room for advancement." -Ronin Warriors #34
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