Very interesting editorial. However, the most interesting and troubling part of the term “Judeo-Christian values”, even how the author uses it is the separation that is assumed between so called “Judeo-Christian values” with Islamic values.
The best of Jewish and Christian values are Islamic values. Treat others how you wish to be treated, be kind to the orphans, advocate for the poor and mentally impaired, honor the elderly, show tenderness to children, etc. These aren’t just “Abrahamic values” either; similar values are found in Sikhism and Zoasterism too.
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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/375585_canellosonline.html
McCain’s ‘Judeo-Christian values’ references are
puzzling
WASHINGTON — On a frozen winter evening at a Town Hall meeting in a school in the Manchester, N.H., suburbs, John McCain expressed surprise and irritation with an intelligence report downplaying the threat of Iran’s nuclear program.
At the end of a long list of reasons to be suspicious of the Iranians, McCain declared: “And they sure don’t share our Judeo-Christian values.”
It seemed at the time to be an odd thing to say about a Muslim country. After all, even if there were no nuclear program, no oil, and no rabble-rousing president, Iran still wouldn’t have Judeo-Christian values. And it’s troubling to wonder if that alone would be a reason for suspicion.
Even President Bush has resisted framing the war on terrorism as a clash of religions; his inexpert use of the word “crusade” early in the conflict set off a wave of criticism and backtracking. He’s never repeated it.
Perhaps McCain’s comment was a similar mistake.
But on Saturday, at the nationally televised forum at evangelist Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in California, McCain declared: “Our Judeo-Christian principles dictate that we do what we can to help people who are oppressed throughout the world.”
And a review of online records by the Globe library shows that McCain uses the term “Judeo-Christian values” quite often, and in varying contexts. For example, last week in York, Pa., he praised small-town Americans by saying, “The Judeo-Christian values that they hold are the strength of America.”
He has also repeatedly urged that illegal immigrants be treated in a manner “consistent with Judeo-Christian values.” In February, he declared that job training was a Judeo-Christian imperative.
“We’ve got to educate and train these people,” he said, referring to laid-off workers. “It is a Judeo-Christian values nation and it’s an obligation we have and we are not doing it.”
Last year, when he was criticized for telling the website Beliefnet that America was founded on Christian principles, McCain’s defense was that he meant to say “Judeo-Christian.” (When pressed, he said he believes a Muslim could serve as president.)
The term Judeo-Christian has a benign history. It was popularized by liberal groups in the 1920s and 1930s to forestall anti-Semitism. It has come to describe the underpinnings of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. McCain, who rarely talks about his personal faith and has disdained the religious right, often uses the term as a synonym for “American values.”(MORE)
