Anger Lingers Over Continued Omission of “Creator” From Political Speeches
When President Obama gave a speech at a fundraiser back on September 15, he raised a few eyebrows when he left “by their Creator” from quotation from the Declaration of Independence. It could be argued that this did not constitute a pattern, but in a reference to the Declaration of Independence in a speech to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, he made the same omission, stating according to the White House transcript as follows.
“And what was sustaining us was that sense that — that North Star, that sense that, you know what, if we stay true to our values, if we believe that all people are created equal and everybody is endowed with certain inalienable rights and we’re going to make those words live, and we’re going to give everybody opportunity, everybody a ladder into the middle class, every child able to go as far as their dreams will take them — if we stay true to that, then we’re going to be able to maintain the energy and the focus, the fight, the gumption to get stuff done.”
Yet again the words “by their Creator” disappeared from Obama’s speech. CNS and World Net Daily consider both omissions to be willful and calculated. Democrats scoff at the accusations as right wing paranoia. Neither web site has come up with proof that the omission was principled and willful.
Despite that, there is, according to World Net Daily an organization called the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy that puts out a pocket size pamphlet that can be downloaded as a pdf file that contains the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address and the Constitution. In print, the pamphlet has the critical words “Under “G-d” omitted from the speech, above which is noted “The Hay Draft.” This is despite the opinion of scholars that the speech given at Gettyspburg did in fact contain the omitted reference to the Creator.
The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy is an influential organization, with board members including former New York Times Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse, controversial Obama judicial nominee Goodwin Liu and former attorney general Janet Reno. It is not outside the centers of political power, and its actions are indicative of underlying attitudes and developing trends in political thought. Additionally, the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy has taken upon itself an educational role in matters of history and civics. This makes an omission in one of their publications a matter of public concern.
Critics of the omission note that the idea of citizens having divinely given rights gives a critical counterbalance to the “mandate of heaven” that had been invoked by tyrants throughout history to justify taking away personal freedom. Defenders of the omission dismiss such criticism as a ploy to distract the public. One such defender, Caroline Frederickson, retorted as follows.
“At a time when many conservative pundits and policymakers can only try to distract from the administration’s efforts to address real problems, it is perhaps not surprising that some would try to refocus attention on such peripheral issues.”
The precise wording of America’s founding documents is still of vital importance in the deliberations of the Supreme Court. One can not wish away phrases that depart from “modern” sensibilities. Being faithful to our collective past matters, it seems not only to the robed justices of our nation’s courts but to the citizens of our republic as well.
Omitting words from our founding documents shows a cavalier attitude towards our collective past. Misreading a teleprompter is one thing. A misprint in a pamphlet with our founding documents in it is another matter entirely. Part of building our future as a nation involves creating a past of which we can later be proud. Any attempt to rewrite the past should be fought and resisted.
There is a reason that people are angry about omitting “Under G-d” and “by their Creator” from quotations in political speeches. Rights given by the government can be taken away by the government. Divinely bestowed rights can not be taken away by mere mortals. The first time President Obama omitted “by their Creator” from a speech, it could have possibly been dismissed. It is entirely proper, however, to correct him, now and in the future.
