Valid by Belief

It seems that no matter what mistakes the current presidential front runners may make, there is one they will not overstep. Topics as controversial as the war on terrorism and Iran's ominous stand on Israel (and vice versa) are fair game for the candidates to take a stand on with no chance of jeopardizing their respective campaigns. On the other hand, their faith is a thin line that they must walk with much agility.

Hopefully everyone would agree that running the country on religious doctrine would be downright nonsensical but still more than half of the electorate want to know that the next leader of this country has a strong faith in the same god as them. It would make more sense if faith and strong beliefs needed to be opined for a personality to be trusted but this is not strictly the case. By inference, strong faith could mean secular values and good ethics but this is not enough for voters. In fact, the chances of a highly moral atheist coming to the oval office are so slim they are not worth noting. If it were strength of belief that voters truly sought then people of more devout faiths would be considered. This is also not the case.

For some abstract reason, belief in the same god precedes trust in a person. This is not only the case when considering the office of the president but also in everyday relationships. Lack of belief and, more significantly, belief in a different deity is a sign of immorality for the general public. It's odd that the most developed nation, after being founded on secular values and indifference to religious convictions, is in favor of doctrine that is considered outdated in the rest of the educated world. Worse still, we see power concentrated in religious figures that continually prey on the fear of believers. To see this rapacious behavior in action simply tune into a religious channel on tv and watch how these men shamelessly ask for money to forgive sins and relieve poverty. It is nothing short of a wide scale scam but since it bears the tag of religion it goes uncensored.

This high level of credibility offered to religion is wrong and dangerous. Dogmatism in something so flimsy and easily malleable is a recipe for disaster. The least we should demand of the candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, is to hear their ideas for the future of this nation. Their faith is their matter, to be kept private, and should not ever influence their politics. A disservice is being done by demanding to hear words of faith and promise rather than rational arguments for ending the war or how to deal with poverty in Africa. Maybe it is the appeal of mythos (fiction) to humans that makes us vulnerable to words of faith over reason or maybe it is a flaw in the society. Whatever the case may be we must demand truth in all matters and make certain the important issues stay in our focus to be dealt with by us all.