don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

"He is a man who compares legal abortion to the Holocaust and gay marriage to incest and pedophilia. He believes that Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and other non-Christians are going to spend eternity burning in hell. He doesn't believe in evolution...It is a heartbreaking thing to watch a tongue-speaking faith-healer promise a room full of sobbing people - many of them poor, many infected with HIV - that Jesus can cure them, if only they believe in him unconditionally (belief demonstrated, of course, in part by tithing generously)."
Michelle Goldberg on Rick Warren, "A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing," Guardian, December 18, 2008

In his weekly radio address on December 17, President-elect Barack Obama introduced the science team that will advise him regarding "America's twenty-first century challenges, from strengthening our security, to rebuilding our economy, to research to find life-saving cures, to preserving our planet for our children and grandchildren."

Mr. Obama acknowledged "leaders like President Kennedy, who inspired us to push the boundaries of the known world and achieve the impossible; leaders who not only invested in our scientists, but who respected the integrity of the scientific process." He added: "Because the truth is that promoting science isn't just about providing resources—it's about protecting free and open inquiry. It's about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology."

Yet, at around the same time, the president-elect selected an anti-science preacher to offer the invocation prayer (is this required/even allowed by our Constitution?) at his inaugural, an intolerant fundamentalist whose career has never been confused with free and open inquiry, but who has shown great public relations skill while twisting and obscuring facts and evidence. What a paradox. Mr. Obama added, "the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us." Too bad Rick Warren, his pick for official preacher, has not demonstrated much regard for any of the science values our new leader (unlike the incumbent) embraces. It's a paradox but also (as Yul Bryner would say), "is a wonderment," as well.

Nevertheless, I have high hopes for the next Administration. Here are a few change desires I'd like our new president to advance. If he manages to accomplish even half of this quality of life agenda, I'll forgive him for naming Rick Warren, a whack-job religious fundamentalist, to intone mumbo jumbo at the Inauguration. And, if Obama accomplishes even more than half of my dream agenda, I'll even look the other way in 2012 if, in the spirit of inclusiveness and reaching out to the FAR Right, he invites Pat Robertson, David Duke, Chuck Colson or even James Dobson to do inaugural prayer honors.

Apologies in advance if the following sounds suspiciously like a prayer.

• Educate the American people to recognize the secular nature of our Constitution. Guide us in coming to appreciate that this country is based on ideals of the Enlightenment, not Christian commandments, revelations, biblical stories or religious dogma of any kind.
  
  
• Promote family and other values, especially life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Make us a faith-based people—faith, that is, in opportunities for all and faith in progress, critical thinking, education, science, humanism and democratic values.
  
  
• Bring back regulation. The Bush Administration's wholesale removal of even modest constraints on market manipulations has led to fiscal ruin on a worldwide scale. An unchecked, unguided and unsupervised market gave the public no protection against exploitation. A moderated economy is needed in place of unfettered capitalism based on the Republican mantra of "drill baby, drill" or "get all you can before the rubes catch on."
  
  
• Change the name of Medicare to "REALwellcare" or something like that—and extend the same medical care benefits seniors now enjoy to every citizen, regardless of age or anything else. The time for universal health care passed long ago—there should be no delays in implementing this one.
  
  
• Strengthen the right to privacy. Be clear that everyone has a fundamental right to pursue his or her values and style of life, providing the freedoms of others are not abridged from doing so.
  
  
• Protect freedom of expression. Remove any barriers to free and open expression, including the right to practice any kind of religion one chooses to embrace, as well as the right of dissent and non-belief.
  
  
• Create an iron wall of separation between church and state. The first amendment is not supportive of allocating taxpayer money for faith-based charities and neither should the new Administration support such an affront to secularism.
  
  
• Focus on the development of alternative energy sources.
  
  
• Seek good relations with the rest of the world. Resolve as expeditiously as possible the war in Iraq.
  
  
• Create a truth commission to investigate potential crimes of the Bush Administration. Investigations might focus on preemptive warfare, torture and indefinite detention.
  
  
• Establish a study group to recommend improvements in our electoral system. A two-year campaign is much too long, expensive and subject to abuses. Also consider a process that makes more democratic the selection of candidates for vice-president. John McCain's choice of Sarah What's-Her-Name was a national disgrace and could have led to ruin. 

These are my hopes for the coming Administration. The Inaugural has not taken place yet, and Obama is off to a shaky start with his prayer pick, but I'll skip that part and tune in for the rest. I'm still hopeful.

Be well—join me in looking on the bright side.

(Grateful acknowledgement to Paul Kurtz and Tom Flynn, authors of "Bravo, President-Elect Obama! New Dimensions for American Democracy," Free Inquiry, December 2008. Many elements of the above quality of life agenda are included in their Free Inquiry editorial.)

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the MEANING DOMAIN under the skill area of applied wellness. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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