The ridiculous quote attributed to James Madison in The Herald on Thursday by a letter writer on Camano Island was not among any known works of that great man (“Ten Commandments: Issue goes to core of nation’s history”). The reason it couldn’t be found is because the “father of the Constitution” and framer of The Bill of Rights never said it. It did, however, appear 152 years post-mortem in the shoddy scholarship of David Barton on page 120 of his book “The Myth of Separation.”
Barton in 1998 admitted that the quote was bogus and shouldn’t be used. But why would Mr. Barton, a self-proclaimed historian, be the only one to find this and other questionable quotes attributed to our founding fathers?
David Barton is the founder and president of Wallbuilders, “a national pro-family organization which distributes historical, legal and statistical information and helps citizens become active in their local schools and communities.”
Barton, also the vice-chairman of the Texas GOP, was hired as a political consultant by the George Bush campaign and the Republican National Committee to speak at about 300 RNC-sponsored lunches for local evangelical pastors where he told them they were allowed to endorse political candidates from the pulpit. His agenda was obvious, revisionist history to fit the fundamentalist evangelical mold, and to undermine the separation of church and state.
I have to admit that I’m disappointed in my favorite local newspaper, The Herald, in allowing this ridiculous lie about Madison to be printed. A lie repeated often enough becomes believed and that’s the danger I see in letting things like this slide by. Extreme right wing fundamentalists are intellectually dishonest and will invent science and history to fit their idea of truth. I don’t include the author of the letter in this statement as she was only one of their many victims.
Phil Peery
Marysville
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