I don't know why or how David Barton thought that he could go on The Daily Show and NOT end up getting ripped to shreds by Jon Stewart for his warped version of American history, but I guess that just proves what we already knew: The guy is completely delusional.
The "historical reclamationist" was trying to promote his new book The Jefferson Lies, an argument against the modern belief that Thomas Jefferson was an atheist. Or a secularist, or something.
Because, in case you didn't know, "atheist" groups all over the country apparently use Thomas Jefferson as an excuse to ban prayer in schools and take the Christ out of Christmas and do all kinds of other anti-Jesus stuff.
Huh?
"I've never thought of Thomas Jefferson as an atheist," said Stewart, the look on his face adding, "and I'm pretty sure nobody else does either, so WTF are you talking about, man?"
Too bad only eight minutes of the interview aired on TV, because Stewart continued to call Barton out on his vague, rambling lies for a full 40 minutes! (Which are totally worth watching online!)
I think the following bit was one of my favorite parts -- starting with Stewart's response to Barton's claim that making kids say the Pledge of Allegiance ("one nation under god") isn't unconstitutional because coercion isn't the same thing as being "forced."
Stewart: But you are being forced to be in school.
Barton: Look at all the pressure that goes through school, whether it's drugs or anything else, and we don't rule that unconstitutional.
Stewart: Well, no, because there's not the teacher saying, "You have to smoke pot."
Stewart: Are you really — and this is, I think, where I get to something that's more difficult to take — you believe there's a hostility —
Barton: Oh, Jon.
Stewart: — to Christianity.
Barton: You would not believe the number of arrest cases in the last year of Christians — a 67-year-old man in Georgia who gave out a gospel tract to somebody on a park bench, two days in jail.
Stewart: I think there is real persecution of Christians.
Barton: There is some.
Stewart: I think it happens in China, but I don't think it happens in this country!
Barton: No, but how do you keep it from becoming like anywhere else? You stop it right when it happens.
Stewart: Because we've had 240 years of evidence that it won't. One of the reasons that we separated it from the public square is to avoid these types of situations.
I sincerely wish every politician with a backwards belief system was required to debate publicly with Jon Stewart.
Did you see David Barton on The Daily Show? What did you think?
Image via The Daily Show
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Comments 13
a) Jefferson wasn't atheist b) even if he was, what's your point? Atheism does NOT immoral!
I am so tired of Christians yelling from the pulpit that they are being persecuted! Christians and other religions have killed so many people in the name of their god. And now they want to make sure that every agrees with them and believes as they do. If you have a different opinion or belief then you are persecuting them. If I don't want to be part of Christianity or a church or anything then I have that right. I am sick of being bashed over the head with the bible.
Why does it matter that they were "Christian" motivations...they came from the fact they were persecutated for their religion. It could've been any religion or even atheists, being persecuated what led to this country being founded.
It was never intended to have any religious structure or rules, period. It doesn't matter what religion they are and they chose for it to be that way.
@ Steve Golac - You're right that the US was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs, but it wasn't intentional. The rights we were given as citizens were pretty much plagiarized from the English Bill of Rights and several other English legal documents. Why? Because the Founding Fathers LIKED being British and wanted to be treated like Englishmen. It was only when Britain decided its subjects were second-class and did not deserve those rights that they got pissed off. And all of those English legal documents WERE set up to reflect Judeo-Christian values, as there was no separation between church and state in England (quite the opposite, actually).
Personally, I am sick of hearing Christians coming out of the woodwork claiming to be feeling "persecuted." People of other religions opely laugh because Christians haven't known was it was like to be persecuted--truly persecuted--for centuries. Try being Jewish in Europe in the 1940's. Or Muslim anywhere today outside the Middle East. THAT is persecution. When you are being openly hunted and killed for practicing your religion, you can rightly claim you are being persecuted. For the record, I am a Christian. A church-going, praying Christian. I don't feel persecuted. Not when my religious symbol is one of the most openly worn and when my religious holidays are the most celebrated. Nope, not really feeling the sting of lash here.