AdrianHopkins.com

Above is the full, uncut video of President Obama’s speech, “A New Beginning” in Cairo, Egypt addressing “the Muslim world.” (Does anyone else have any hangups about that labeling? I mean, I get it. That ‘world’ just seems entirely too complex to get a neat little packaging.)

The always on-point folks at Jack & Jill Politics posted the full transcript of the speech this morning along with this little historical gem:

BTW, for conservatives and bigots who are freaking out that America is extending its hand to the Muslim world, know that the founders of our nation saw things differently (from Wikipedia): In 1796, then president John Adams signed a treaty declaring the United States had no “character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen“.^[14]

I’m an historian (for my degree tells me so), so it is my obligation to look deeper into that quote from the treaty – the 1796 Treaty of Peace and Friendship:

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 tranquility of Musselmen,-and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan 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.

Obama quoted from that section in his speech, but he omitted that whole “not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion” thing. Again, I get it. The man is indeed a politician and there is no reason to choose this particular forum to say “and America wasn’t supposed to be a Christian nation.”

I guess that’s just one more harrumph I have against the fact that pundit-based platitudes can become foregone conclusions in mainstream media.

*Goes back to work to change the (media) game for these (foes)*