{"id":8014,"date":"2011-01-28T16:29:04","date_gmt":"2011-01-28T21:29:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/?p=8014"},"modified":"2013-05-10T15:27:17","modified_gmt":"2013-05-10T19:27:17","slug":"january-28-2011-state-of-the-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2011\/01\/28\/january-28-2011-state-of-the-union\/8014\/","title":{"rendered":" State of the Union"},"content":{"rendered":"
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BOB ABERNETHY<\/strong>, host: President Obama explicitly singled out US Muslims in his State of the Union address Tuesday (January 25), saying they are part of the American family. Throughout his speech, the president called for a new era of cooperation. Several times, he noted the nation\u2019s religious diversity:<\/p>\n

President Obama: \u201cWe believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

ABERNETHY<\/strong>: Our managing editor, Kim Lawton, has been following religious reaction to the president\u2019s address.<\/p>\n

\"post01-stateoftheunion\"KIM LAWTON<\/strong>, managing editor: I actually moderated a conversation for our Web site with religious people giving their reactions to the address. I\u2019ve heard from and talked to many others, and a lot of their reaction did split in predictable partisan lines. Those who support the president were more positive; those who don\u2019t weren\u2019t. That was predictable. But one thing that struck me was among conservatives and liberals I heard disappointment that there wasn\u2019t more attention on the poor. The president never actually said \u201cthe poor,\u201d but when he was talking about all of the budget problems and possible cuts, he did mention he didn\u2019t want to do that on the backs of the most vulnerable in the nation. But this is an area that a lot of faith-based groups are concerned about when we\u2019re talking about making big cuts and dealing with that. How is that going to affect the poor and the marginalized? And so those are going to be some big battles coming.<\/p>\n

ABERNEHTY<\/strong>: \u201cThe least of these.\u201d<\/p>\n

LAWTON<\/strong>: Exactly.<\/p>\n

ABERNETHY<\/strong>: And what about the language?<\/p>\n

LAWTON<\/strong>: Well, I heard some disappointment from many fronts, again both liberals and conservatives, that the president didn\u2019t use more moral language, spiritual and moral terms, even when he was talking about some of the problems facing the nation. He didn\u2019t say it\u2019s the right thing to do to balance the budget or to be accountable or responsible for your money. He didn\u2019t talk about that when he was talking about clean energy. He didn\u2019t say \u201ccaring for the environment,\u201d which is language a lot of faith groups like to hear. Some people say, well, this is a State of the Union address. It\u2019s a legislative package, and that\u2019s not the place for that kind of language. Certainly the president used a lot of theological language in his Tucson speech, but for many faith people, they like to hear that kind of language in every speech, and they did find that missing.<\/p>\n

ABERNETHY<\/strong>: And beyond language, important as that is, is a kind of point of view. Yes, we need a lot more attention to math and science, but no less attention to poetry and preaching and art\u2014all the arts and all the humanities part of it.<\/p>\n

LAWTON<\/strong>: Well, a lot of faith communities do talk about some of those intangible things. What makes America great? Is it just economy or military? Is there something else, something deeper, something that more perhaps reflects the soul of the nation? And I do think that for a lot of faith-based groups they think that those kinds of things should be included in a State of the Union.<\/p>\n

ABERNETHY<\/strong>: More than what just can be measured. Kim Lawton, many thanks.<\/p>\n

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