The current furor over the San Francisco 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitultional is a bit funny. It’s already become a highly charged political and religious debate.
I don’t see this as removing God from our society. There are some instances where its use is purely banal, but this is one instance where we as citizens, in all our wide-ranging beliefs, are asked to offer up our allegiance to this nation as a nation under God.
God, as it’s used here, is not a generic term for divinity, but refers to the Christian God, and we as a nation, as a people, should not be bound by ideas of this nation under any one particular divinity.
The pledge as it was originally written by Francis Bellamy in 1892 reads as follows:
I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
It wasn’t until 1942 that Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance. One year later, in June 1943, the Supreme Court ruled that school children could not be forced to recite it. It was in 1954 that Congress, after a campaign by the Knights of Columbus, added the words, ‘under God’ to the Pledge. This change made the Pledge both a patriotic oath and a public prayer.
It was in 1955 that a bill (H.R. 619) was introduced into the House. A representative from Florida addressed Congress with the following:
I sincerely hope that the Senate will give its prompt approval to this proposal. In these days when imperialistic and materialistic communism seeks to attack and destroy freedom, we should continuously look for ways to strengthen the foundations of our freedom. At the base of our freedom is our faith in God and the desire of Americans to live by His will and His guidance. As long as this country trusts in God, it will prevail. To serve as a constant reminder of this truth, it is highly desirable that our currency and coins should bear these inspiring words ‘In God We Trust’.
Through its passing Congress mandated the use of ‘In God we trust’ on all currency. A year later those words became the official national motto (H.R. Res. 396). Why?
I understand the reasonings behind wanting to reaffirm religious faith along with patriotic pride. I understand why the addition of the words ‘under God’ were not a big deal in 1954, and why its possible removal is a sensitive issue to many people now. I don’t see this simply as some sort of politically correct move though. This is not PC revisionism. This is righting a wrong from 1954.
If we take into account that it was a campaign by the Knights of Columbus and that the KOFC are “Catholic gentlemen committed to the exemplification of charity, unity, fraternity, patriotism, and defense of the priesthood”, then the Congressional amendment to change the pledge can be seen as respecting an establishment of religion and violating the first amendment of the Constitution.
I have no problem with this decision. I have no problem if the next step is to remove the words ‘In God We Trust’ from our currency, or to ask that government organizations not use prayers to begin their sessions. These things don’t threaten me. This is not a dissolution of spirituality or religion in our society. This is asking our government to respect that we, its citizens, are varied in our beliefs and theologies, and don’t necessarily ascribe those beliefs to the God that the US government feels the need to profess belief in, and then abuse when political agendas or elections are on the line.
The reactions of those calling this ridiculous are themselves being overly sensitive and ridiculous. To say that an attack on the word ‘God’ in government is like attacking motherhood and apple pie is an unacceptable analogy. I prefer having a government run by men and women who can represent my viewpoints, but that can remain clearly secular as a whole.
References:
6 responses so far ↓
1 S. R.K // Nov 5, 2002 at 1:37 pm
MOMENT OF TRUTH
I feel that we as a nation need God. All the time. I never understood that thing after the Sept. 11th everybody wanted to call on God for help. But where were your prayers when things were going good. We never take the time out to thank God for bring us this far. He is an awesome God. And he was here in the beginning and he will be here until the end of the world. We as a nation need to aknowledge and honor our true father God which art in heaven, it is he who has made us!
2 Angry // Nov 18, 2003 at 12:13 pm
Whether you agree or not , this nation was founded in the christian faith. Just take a close look at our declaration of indepence. The fact is , our founding fathers OBVIOUSLY believed in God. Now that you know that , do you know that they risked their lives for this country? Did you know that they shaped this government to what it is today . And if you think that government and God don’t mix , then tell me why did our founding fathers use the bible as a reference .Now the threats to remove God from our society are accelerating. From taking away the ten commandments to removing in God we trust from our currency. Our forefathers never meant for things to turn out this way. Now it looks like all their efforts were in vain. Everything they ever did for this country was in vain. Whether you like it or not you must FACE IT this is a christian country. So many people are trying to remove pieces of our history, they are trying to our tradition. So what if we do remove God then everything this country was ever founded on something that is a major part of this country was in vain , on purpose . People like you are trying to away everything this country was founded on and guess what you know youre wrong in doing it.
3 michael // Nov 18, 2003 at 9:46 pm
I do disagree with you on a number of points. This nation was founded on the principles of freedom and equality for all its citizens, by men of the Christian faith. I wouldn’t say they obviously believed in God, but clearly they were men of faith. A faith whose morality on the one hand inspired them, and gave them a foundation of ideals to aspire to, and on the other hand was so arrogant that they decimated the peoples and cultures of this land without batting an eye.
Let’s hear it for tradition. Let’s bring back slavery, and deny women the right to vote. Hell, let’s bring back revolution!
And I will state it again. Removing religion from government is a good thing. I believe the founding fathers would favor a secular government where free people could follow there beliefs freely; free from kings and governments who feel they rule or govern by divine right.
4 Thisis Nottaname // Nov 20, 2003 at 8:52 pm
One Nation, Under GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! © 2002 by David W. Neuendorf
5 michael // Nov 20, 2003 at 11:24 pm
While I appreciate your enthusiasm on the subject, I cannot allow wholesale posting of copyrighted material, whether proper attribution is included or not. That is the reason I changed the post to a link to the article.
6 francis ociones // Dec 27, 2003 at 4:17 pm
merry christmas y’all
You must log in to post a comment.