For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers.
- President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address, January 21, 2009
We, too, are Americans.
There is no doubt that the very nature of faith means that some of our beliefs will never be the same. We read from different texts. We follow different edicts. We subscribe to different accounts of how we came to be here and where we're going next - and some subscribe to no faith at all...
We, too, have values.
We know too that whatever our differences, there is one law that binds all great religions together. Jesus told us to "love thy neighbor as thyself." The Torah commands, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow." In Islam there is a hadith that reads "None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." And the same is true for Buddhists and Hindus; for followers of Confucius and for humanists. It is, of course, the Golden Rule - the call to love one another; to understand one another; to treat with dignity and respect those with whom we share a brief moment on this Earth.
- Remarks of President Obama, National Prayer Breakfast, February 5, 2009
We, too, are moral beings.
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.
- National Day of Prayer Proclamation May 7, 2009
We, too, serve.
And we must find a way to reconcile our ever-shrinking world with its ever-growing diversity -- diversity of thought, diversity of culture, and diversity of belief...
For if there is one law that we can be most certain of, it is the law that binds people of all faiths and no faith together. It's no coincidence that it exists in Christianity and Judaism; in Islam and Hinduism; in Buddhism and humanism.
- Remarks by the President in Commencement Address at the University of Notre Dame, May 17, 2009
We, too, are your brothers and sisters.
But whatever God we prayed to, whatever our differences, we knew that the evil we faced had to be stopped. Citizens of all faiths and of no faith came to believe that we could not remain as bystanders to the savage perpetration of death and destruction.
- Remarks by the President at D-Day 65th Anniversary Ceremony, June 6, 2009
We, too, fight and have fought alongside you, against hate, against discrimination, against injustice, against inequality.
And, we, too, feel pain at our exclusion from the American community.
We, don't want to be "tolerated" - we want to be welcomed. Welcomed as Americans, as citizens, as patriots, as progressives, and as moral beings with values and value.
We are your neighbors, your co-workers, your partners, your spouses, your brothers, your sisters, your mothers, your fathers, your uncles, your aunts your cousins. We'd like to be your friends - and not have to hide who we are to be accepted as friends.
So, why are you so afraid of us? Why are you so defensive? Why can't you allow us to freely express what we feel, what we believe - as you do, constantly - without interpreting it as a personal insult?
Why will a majority of you never vote for us? Why will a majority of you disapprove if we seek to marry your sons or daughters? Why do a majority of you agree with the statement that atheists do not share common American values? Why do a majority of you hold us in lower esteem than any other group in America - minority or majority - religious, ethnic, racial, gender or sexual preference? Why does that hold true for a majority of Democrats, as well as a majority of Republicans?
Why is "atheist" a common epithet - so heinous, that even a Democratic candidate for the US Senate has to run away from it as long and as hard as they can?
Why are you never there when we are publicly attacked - even when we ask for your participation in protest? We are always there for you.
President Obama is not afraid of us.
Why are you?