But religious moderation still represents a failure to criticize the unreasonable (and dangerous) certainty of others. As a consequence of our silence on these matters, we live in a country in which a person cannot get elected president if he openly doubts the existence of heaven and hell. This is truly remarkable, given that there is no other body of "knowledge" that we require our political leaders to master. Even a hairstylist must pass a licensing exam before plying his trade in the United States, and yet those given the power to make war and national policy---those whose decisions will inevitably affect human life for generations---are not expected to know anything in particular before setting to work. They do not have to be political scientists, economists or even lawyers; they do not need to have studied human relations, military history, resource management, civil engineering, or any field of knowledge that might be brought to bear in the governance of a modern superpower; they need only be expert fund-raisers, comport themselves well on television, and be indulgent of certain myths.
I wish there were some way to change that reality but it will probably be true for as long as we survive as a nation.
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