On this day of unity and prayer, let us also honor the service and sacrifice of the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. We celebrate their commitment to uphold our highest ideals, and we recognize that it is because of them that we continue to live in a Nation where people of all faiths can worship or not worship according to the dictates of their conscience.
Let us also use this day to come together in a moment of peace and goodwill. Our world grows smaller by the day, and our varied beliefs can bring us together to feed the hungry and comfort the afflicted; to make peace where there is strife; and to lift up those who have fallen on hard times. As we observe this day of prayer, we remember the one law that binds all great religions together: the Golden Rule, and its call to love one another; to understand one another; and to treat with dignity and respect those with whom we share a brief moment on this Earth. ...
I [Barack Obama] call upon Americans to pray in thanksgiving for our freedoms and blessings and to ask for God's continued guidance, grace, and protection for this land that we love.
Hilzoy has some interesting things to say about the criticism of some that Obama did not make the National Day of Prayer as public or sectarian (see also, Rachel Maddow last night, one voice noting that we are a "Judeo-Christian" nation since we honor God ... unlike Muslims?) as some would have liked. Obama is no absolutist on this, so the low key approach used here, the proclamation dictated by an act of Congress, is probably the best one can hope for.
This is so even though the selective call of religious unity runs counter to the fact that "a religion, even if it calls itself the religion of love, must be hard and unloving to those who do not belong to it." Well, that might be a bit harsh, but it is still true many religions are somewhat harsh to "unbelievers." This meaning a lot more than belief in a God to many people. President Jefferson also avoided this sort of thing:
[I]t is only proposed that I should recommend, not prescribe a day of fasting & prayer. That is, that I should indirectly assume to the U. S. an authority over religious exercises which the Constitution has directly precluded from them. It must be meant too that this recommendation is to carry some authority, and to be sanctioned by some penalty on those who disregard it; not indeed of fine and imprisonment, but of some degree of proscription perhaps in public opinion.
This sort of thing should not be exaggerated, obviously, but it still suggests a basic rule: true separation of church and state cannot be absolute. Not in some overly artificial way of police not protecting churches or churches not having exemptions for their charity work, but that the POTUS must recommend people to pray as an official act. While doing so, it is likely s/he will do so in a way disputed by the religious beliefs of millions of people. And, in some small way, religion will be made relevant to public acts of the government in ways it simply should not.
It won't stop with the tiny breaches of the wall. Nor does any kind of discrimination. The reference to United States Armed Forces supplies a suitable bridge to another guest on Rachel's show:
[Lt] Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and officer in the Army National Guard who is fluent in Arabic and who returned recently from Iraq, received notice today that the military is about to fire him. Why? Because he came out of the closet as a gay man on national television.
The linked article puts this in Obama's hands because it appears to legal minds who studied the matter, even if Rep. Sestak (the law is the law, no matter how bad) on her show was hesitant about the path, that Obama could right not put forth an executive order to stop the investigations. Congress set the policy, but Obama can decide not to enforce it, I'd say perhaps as a moratorium while the Defense Department studies the matter. This is credible in part because the matter is now under judicial review. If Gitmo prisoners can be in limbo as the situation is examined, why not this policy?
[Thus, no, this isn't just some dubious "prosecutorial discretion" that can justify ignoring any law that might result in uncomfortable political consequences.]
2nd Lt. Sandy Tsao sent Obama a letter in January:
I am a Second Lieutenant currently serving in the United States Army. In addition to being an officer, I am a Christian, a woman and a Chinese-American. I am proud of all these identities. Lastly, I am also a homosexual. On December 21, 2007, I was appointed as an army officer. In the oath of office I swore that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Unfortunately, I will not be able to fulfill this oath because the current policy regarding sexual orientation contradicts my values as a moral human being.
A Christian? But, she's gay!! She received a letter back signed by the President:
Thanks for your wonderful and thoughtful letter. It is because of outstanding Americans like you that I committed to changing our current policy. Although it will take some time to complete (partly because it needs Congressional action ) I intend to fulfill my commitment!
Tsao also for her "actions" was kicked out of the military. It is unclear if Obama could not have done something to stop this. Some suggest these individuals chose their paths, that they decided to speak out ("action"). But, as she noted:
Originally I planned to leave quietly and reenlist in the Marines if the policy changed, but I was getting so lonely and tired of people cracking gay jokes and not being able to talk to my friend because of the policy.She then quoted from the U.S. Army's Equal Opportunity Branch (EO) Mission Statement about how the military "provides an environment free of unlawful discrimination and offensive behavior." This includes constitutional demands. And, these two individuals in effect are spokespersons for all those who must live a lie, which is damned hard, so in some fashion they "act" and violate the policy. Of course, being less public, the military can arbitrarily pick and choose who to dismiss. [Update: And, it encourages harassment of those who "act" "homosexual."]
That doesn't seem to honor the Golden Rule, does it? I recall the person who spoke about that rule also was not too enthused about public prayer; his guide to the rightful path was a bit harder than that. [Update: Steven Colbert made the same point yesterday. So easy sometimes.]