Student organization caught in a web of selective quoting
LETTER TO THE EDITOR, May 6, 2004
Recently, the members of a student organization, have fallen into the alluring trap of selective quoting. Through careful selection of quotes, the College Republicans try to show that the founders of the United States of America intended it to be a religious, Christian nation. Such selective quoting presents an overly simplistic view of politics and history while obscuring a reality that is far more complicated (and interesting).
While men such as Washington, Adams, and Jefferson clearly felt that religion could be an important part of a moral society, it is equally clear that they recognized the dangers religion can pose to society, especially when religion becomes entangled with government. This understanding led to the First Amendment and to Article 11 in the 1797 Treat of Tripoli, approved by the Senate (there is no record of dissent) and signed by President John Adams:
“As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen [Muslims]; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan [Muslim] nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”
Adams, Jefferson, and others discussed these issues in written correspondences which are collected in a variety of reference books and quoted ad infinitum on the internet. For example:
“...And, even since the Reformation, when or where has existed a Protestant or dissenting sect who would tolerate A FREE INQUIRY? The blackest billingsgate, the most ungentlemanly insolence, the most yahooish brutality is patiently endured, countenanced, propagated, and applauded. But touch a solemn truth in collision with a dogma of a sect, though capable of the clearest proof, and you will soon find you have disturbed a nest, and the hornets will swarm about your legs and hands, and fly into your face and eyes.” John Adams, letter to John Taylor, 1814, quoted in Norman Cousins, In God We Trust: The Religious Beliefs and Ideas of the American Founding Fathers (1958)
What do their writings tell us? That these men were aware of history and incredibly prescient in understanding the implications of mixing religion and government. They understood that religion typically requires dogmatic adherence to a sect’s teachings while government requires flexibility to accommodate a wide variety of beliefs and neutrality to negotiate respectful coexistence between those beliefs.
Research shows us that when a person is provided information about a belief they hold; they will remember the supporting evidence and ignore the contradictory evidence. This is a tendency we all must fight. It is easy to look in reference books and on the internet and find a plethora of quotes from famous people to support whatever idea you wish to promote. Look more carefully, and you will certainly find quotes that indicate the opposite, often from the same sources.
The tactics employed by the College Republicans are typical of campaign tactics made by political partisans of all stripes. As citizens, we must insist that office holders and candidates recognize and address the complexity inherent in governing and history. We should expect no less from the College Republicans.
Mike Phillips
Geology Instructor