…since there’s so much online already, but I came across a speech he gave at a church, and it became clear to me that this man really needs to be president.
I spent 5 years in the US, a few of which I spent enrolled in an incredibly relgious private school. The experience did not convert me, but gave me an appreciation for how that section of society lived, which I would have otherwise not really seen. Much has been made of the role religion plays in US politics, and as a Canadian, I am still struck by the way it can dominate the political discourse. But in Canada, though secularism is much more common, the conflicts are often similar.
Please watch from at least the 6:30 mark, to about the 22:00 mark, as Obama lays out his beliefs about politics and religion, and gives advice to progressives seeking to bring about change in the US (and, as I would like to suggest, Canada).
“In fact, because I do not believe that religious people have a monopoly on morality, I would rather have someone who is grounded in morality and ethics, and who is also secular, affirm their morality, and their ethics, and their values, without pretending that they’re something they’re not. They don’t need to do that. None of us need to do that.” This was met with sustained applause- in a church.
http://www.barackobama.com