Today’s Brilliant Quote

I am a huge admirer of writer/professor/social critic Camille Paglia’s ability to sum up a situation in an intelligent, thoughtful manner. While Ms. Paglia’s view on several subjects (feminism, sexuality, politics) can at times seem a million miles from my own views I love the way that she refuses to bow to the sacred cows of the aforementioned subjects. For instance, she is a devout atheist who admires those who have deep and sincere religious beliefs. She is an ardent feminist who is not afraid to call her sisters out when they are being hypocritical. or man-bashing, or elitist. She is a lifelong Democrat who has long been very critical of the party’s tendency to demonize Republicans.

I was reading her current essay in Salon titled “Obama’s hit & a big miss”. She was writing about Obama’s trip to Egypt and the speech that he gave there. This speech was supposed to be ground breaking and start Muslims, Chrisitans & Jews on the road to peace. Paglia so succinctly summed up some of my pet peeves about Obama that I thought this was worth sharing.

“It was also puzzling how a major statement about religion could seem so detached from religion. Obama projected himself as a floating spectator of other people's beliefs (as in his memory of hearing the call to prayer in Indonesia). Though he identified himself as a Christian, there was no sign that it goes very deep. Christianity seemed like a badge or school scarf, a testament of affiliation without spiritual convictions or constraints. This was one reason, perhaps, for the odd failure of the speech to acknowledge the common Middle Eastern roots of Judeo-Christianity and Islam, for both of whom the holy city of Jerusalem remains a hotly contested symbol.

Obama's lack of fervor may be one reason he rejects and perhaps cannot comprehend the religious passions that perennially erupt around the globe and that will never be waved away by mere words. By approaching religion with the cool, neutral voice of the American professional elite, Obama was sometimes simplistic and even inadvertently condescending, as in his gift bag of educational perks like "scholarships," "internships," and "online learning" -- as if any of these could checkmate the seething, hallucinatory obsessions of jihadism.

…At the finale, his recitation of soft-focus quotes from the Koran, Talmud and Bible came perilously close to a fuzzy New Age syncretism of "all religions are the same" -- which they unequivocally are not. The problem facing international security is that people who believe something will always be stronger and more committed than people who believe nothing -- which unfortunately describes the complacent passivity of most Western intellectuals these days.”

Comments

[Abigail]

wow, good stuff! she definitely sums up some of his glaring issues very well! perceptive...

[Cheri' White]

You are absolutely right about her ability to bring clarity. What a great gift! I loved what she said and how she sorted it out and made it clear! Thanks for this post!

[Eleanor]

"...people who believe something will always be stronger and more committed than people who believe nothing..." -- Wow!
But she's an athiest?

[Lori]

El, she is firmly an atheist. Cheri & Abigail, she is really good at weeding out the baloney on nearly any issue.