America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great by M. D. Ben Carson

Although I did not show it outwardly, I was stunned, because I thought Columbine High School would be the last place on earth where I would hear such an admonition. Those officials were not bad people; quite the contrary. But they were extremely afraid of creating controversy or being blamed for what had occurred. I could tell that some of the administrators did not agree with this policy, but they wanted to maintain the harmony. I don’t usually get nervous before a speech, but in this particular case I had received so many warnings about what not to say due to the sensitivity of the audience, that I was off my game.
    The program was beautifully organized by our friends, the school officials, and students, and I was already quite inspired by the time I took the podium in the gymnasium before the entire school body, parents, officials, and the media. I spoke a bit about hardship and how it can be an advantage if one does not become a victim. I also commented about resilience and how success is frequently preceded by failure, but at the conclusion I had to talk about God and the very godly principles that resulted in the establishment of our great nation. At the end, I received a standing ovation from an incredibly enthusiastic crowd, and I knew that I had done the right thing by not hiding my faith or denying the principles that have led to well-functioning harmonious communities throughout our nation. Was I aware that I was violating the established protocols for the program? Of course I was. But I also knew that the whole purpose of the program was to promote character, and if I denied my faith I would be manifesting a total lack of character — for the sake of pleasing a few, I would have disappointed many.
    One of the reasons public institutions would rather exclude God is to avoid offending others and creating controversy. They do not want Jews to be offended by the mention of the name Jesus Christ, nor do they want Muslims to be offended by the Torah, nor Christians to be offended by treks to Mecca.
    The story of Abraham is well known to Jews, Christians, and Muslims; he is referred to as “the father” in all three religions. Yet even though there is a common ancestor, human nature and the desire for superiority has turned these differences into cause for war and mayhem. Historically, millions of people have been killed in the name of religion. The brutality associated with the Crusades, the Muslim conquests, the French Wars of Religion, the Reconquista, and, more recently, the Jihad illustrate how strongly people can feel about their religion. But can all this religious fervor be channeled in a positive rather than negative way?
    As a Christian, I am not the least bit offended by the beliefs of Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and so forth. In fact, I am delighted to know that they believe in something that is more likely to make them into a reasonable human being, as long as they don’t allow the religion to be distorted by those seeking power and wealth.
    Those in positions of leadership in our society must familiarize themselves with the religions of all their citizens, and they must begin to emphasize the commonalities that unite us as people of faith. Common objectives placed on the forefront of public policies will help people work together and bond us together as a nation in spite of our religious differences.
    Another example that caused me to contemplate the question, are we a Judeo-Christian nation or not? was when I was asked to deliver the keynote address at the 1997 Presidential Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. This is of course a great honor, for the audience consists not only of the president, vice president, and their families, but Supreme Court justices, United States senators and congressmen, as well as ambassadors and dignitaries from every walk of life from all over the world. I became familiar with the Secret Service through many calls and emails, and everything