I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God.....But under which God?
A while back, a man, representing his daughter, challenged Congress that forcing people to state the pledge of allegiance is unconstitutional. When they brought the case to the Supreme Court, they (and I, personally) took notice of a few of the following points that backed up the man's decision to sue:
The first point (which, might I add, is completely relevant in understanding these arguments.): The history of the pledge, and when the phrase “under God” was added.
In 1892, the pledge was written by a socialist editor and clergyman Francis Bellamy. It was written to reflect the views of the book “Looking Backward”, published in 1888. The book was written by Francis’s cousin, Edward Bellamy. The pledge originally stated:
I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
In 1924, the phrase “the flag of the United States of America” was substituted for “my flag.”
Then, in 1954, the Knights of Columbus, a group of Catholic Religious leaders, persuaded President Eisenhower and the US Congress to acknowledge the existence of one god, the Christian god, by adding the phrase “under God” to the pledge. It now officially states:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
But, on June 26, 2002, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals decided that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in Public Schools is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion, because of separation of church and state.
The second point: why the phrase “Under God” is referring to the Christian god and only the Christian god.
Proponents in this case argue that when we are stating the phrase “One nation under God” in the pledge of allegiance, we are stating that our nation is pledged under any god that we choose to worship, whether it be Buddah, Tao, Yahweh, Jehovah, or any other. But the fact remains that the phrase itself was inserted by a group of religious leaders who strongly believed in the Christian god. And not only that, but when President Eisenhower signed the law that added “under God” to the pledge, he stated this:
"From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our Nation and our people to the Almighty."
To put his words in simpler text, he stated that from then on, every child required to recite this pledge in school or at public events will be daily recognizing the existance of the Christian god.
It is also a fact that when the pledge of allegiance is written, the G in God is always capitalized. If you look in any text with the word God, and the G in the word is capitalized it is always referring to the Christian god. But, if the g in god is not capitalized, then, and only then, it is referring to a god of any religion. With that said, the word God, capital G-o-d, in the pledge of allegiance is without a doubt referring to the Christian god.
The third point: why requiring people to state the pledge of allegiance is in violation of the US Constitution and The Bill of Rights.
In the US Constitution, the very first line of the very first admendment on the Bill of Rights states the following:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
They stated this in meaning that Congress will make no law favoring one religion, or taking away the right of freedom to practice any religion we choose. The very foundation of our country is based upon the freedom to practice whatever religion we choose. In fact, the Revolutionary War was partially fought to protect this very freedom. Requiring people to state the pledge as it is written is taking away their freedom of religion just because they may not believe in the same god that the Knights of Columbus believed in.
And there is also another important freedom that we are blessed with: the freedom from religion. It is the right of every American to believe in any god we choose, or to choose not to believe at all. We are blessed with these freedoms, and it is our duty to follow them, whether we like it or not. These freedoms are the basis of our country, the very reason we came to America was because Britian would not give us these freedoms. It is un-American for us to take these freedoms away from anyone in our country, because everyone should be treated equally, so if one gets a freedom, the other gets the same freedom. If we take away these rights from even one individual, America is no longer what we call it...the land of the free.
In conclusion, the Supreme Court recently decided to dismiss the case that they had earlier accepted on this issue. However, they dismissed it on a technicality, ruling that the man that had sued for his daughter's freedom of religion did not have full custody of her. In other words, the Supreme Court sidestepped the real issue: Is the phrase "one nation under God" in the pledge of allegiance Constitutional, or not?
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the republic for which it stands. One nation...indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
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Commentary Too Archives:
Remembering Reagan (Robin Buckallew, Jun 6, 2004)
One Nation... Indivisible (Kelsey Faulk, Jun 19, 2004)
Talking To God (Mark Faulk, Jul 6, 2004)
Please Don't Hang Me On A Cross Of Gold (Apologies to William Jennings Bryan) (Robin Buckallew, Jul 28, 2004)
A Republican Speaks (D.E. Neighbors, Aug 7, 2004)
Does God Need Government Assistance? (Mike Bohling, Aug 21, 2004)
School Just Ain’t What It Used to Be (D.E. Neighbors, Sep 6, 2004)
How To Set Things Right (Robert Wahl, Sep 17, 2004)
Balancing Act (Mike Bohling, Oct 3, 2004)
From the Core of the Big Apple (Kevin Raney, Oct 11, 2004)
Homeland Security: Now Less Than Ever (Mark Faulk, Oct 31, 2004)
You Might be a Dubya Supporter if... (Robin Buckallew, Nov 4, 2004)
Nothing is Certain but Death (Robin Buckallew, Nov 14, 2004)
Without Feathers (Mark Faulk, Dec 1, 2004)
Honey, if That's the Grinch Knocking, Would You Let Him in? (Robin Buckallew, Dec 20, 2004)
Lights Out (Robin Buckallew, Dec 26, 2004)
Is God Dead? (Down The Middle, Jan 4, 2005)
Feeding the Stock Market Beast (Mark Faulk, Jan 11, 2005)
Confessions From the Closet (S. K. Eleton, Jan 16, 2005)
Nowhere to Hide, Ever (A fist full of love) (Mike Bohling, Jan 29, 2005)
The Election That Bush Couldn't Win (Mark Faulk, Feb 6, 2005)
What Women Want (Robin Buckallew, Feb 19, 2005)
Apocalypse Now? (Mark Faulk, Mar 2, 2005)
Stupid Things I See People Do In The Backcountry (Part I) (Mike Bohling, Mar 23, 2005)
Do I Seem Annoyed To You? (Bob O'Brien, Mar 30, 2005)
Time to Boycott GE, Dateline, and NBC? (Mark Faulk, Apr 6, 2005)
(Not) Waiting to Exhale (Jeff Buckley, Apr 12, 2005)
The First Amendment Paradox (S.K. Eleton, Apr 26, 2005)
Giving Science a Wedgie (Robin Buckallew, May 7, 2005)
Lonesome Lake (Mike Spains, May 22, 2005)
Top of the Heap (And other misconceptions about Man’s place in the World) (Mike Bohling, Jun 6, 2005)
Casualties of War (Mark Faulk, Jun 18, 2005)
Buy American! (While You Still Can) (Mark Faulk, Jun 28, 2005)
"You're Fired!" (Mark Faulk, Jul 14, 2005)
London "Suicide Bomber": Cross-Examining the Witness (Mark Faulk, Jul 27, 2005)
Mamas, Don't let your Babies Grow up to Eat French Fries (Robin Buckallew, Aug 11, 2005)
Winning the War on Terror (Mike Bohling, Aug 25, 2005)
It Ain't the Big Easy...It's Dunkirk! (Down the Middle, Sep 1, 2005)
New Orleans: Mother Nature's Fury.....or Urban Renewal? (Mark Faulk, Sep 12, 2005)
Say Goodbye (Down the Middle, Sep 25, 2005)
Republicans Screw America....Again! (Mark Faulk, Oct 7, 2005)
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Being Different (Kelsey Renee Faulk, Oct 10, 2005)
Has Overstock.com become --- Overstocked by Wall Street? (Dave Patch, Nov 4, 2005)
Swallowing God (Mike Bohling, Nov 13, 2005)
And May all Your Christmases be White..... (Mark Faulk, Dec 1, 2005)
One Love (Mark Faulk, Dec 22, 2005)
A Symphony of Greed (Mark Faulk, Jan 3, 2006)
Establishment Libs Fuel the Fires of Distraction (Charles Katin, Jan 24, 2006)
This Used to be a Helluva Good Country ** (Robin Buckallew, Feb 4, 2006)
How can shareholders stand up for their rights? (Kevin West, Feb 26, 2006)
In Congress, It's Still a Man's World (Mark Faulk, Mar 19, 2006)
Roddy Boyd: The Other Side of the Story...Feeling the Heat (Mark Faulk, Mar 29, 2006)
The Little Gingerbread Boy (Robin Buckallew, Apr 19, 2006)
It's in the Mail (Eustace P. McGargle, Ph.D., F.A.S.N. , May 17, 2006)
The Land of the Free (S.K.Eleton, May 28, 2006)
The Plame Truth (Robin Buckallew, Jun 7, 2006)
“The world was too ridiculous to bother to live in.” (Mark Faulk, Jun 23, 2006)
What Does Jeb Bush Want to be When he Grows up? (Robin Buckallew, Jul 4, 2006)
Is the Road to Damascus Through Lebanon? (Down the Middle, Jul 15, 2006)
In a Pickle (Down the Middle, Jul 26, 2006)
A Pound of Flesh (Down the Middle, Aug 1, 2006)
Tampa Bay goes to the...oops, I can't say that (Robin Buckallew, Aug 18, 2006)
Mission Accomplished (Down the Middle, Sep 11, 2006)
Bush is a Democrat! (Down the Middle, Sep 28, 2006)
You're Doing it All Wrong (Down the Middle, Oct 4, 2006)
When the Shiite Hits the Fan (Down the Middle, Oct 31, 2006)
Generation W (Mark Faulk, Dec 24, 2006)
Lily White (Lauren Zuniga, Feb 13, 2007)
imaginary friends (Lauren Zuniga, Mar 7, 2007)
The Truth About You (Lauren Zuniga, April 3, 2007 )
God Bless You, Kurt Vonnegut (Mark Faulk, April 12, 2007)
PRESIDENT BUSH 5, CONSTITUTION 4 (S. K. Eleton, July 3, 2007)
laryngitis (Lauren Zuniga, July 26, 2007)
To Grandma, With Love (Robin Buckallew, August 7, 2007)
American Messiah (Robin Buckallew, Feb. 8, 2008)
We Have Seen the Enemy...and they are Gay! (Mark Faulk, Mar 21, 2008)
Teaching Evolution in the Bible Belt (Robin Buckallew, May 16, 2008)
Who's On First? (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Jul 7, 2008)
Silver State Bank: Like Rats From a Sinking Ship (Mark Faulk, Aug 1, 2008)
Top McCain Adviser Linked to AIG Collapse (Mark Faulk, Sep 17, 2008)
Financial Armageddon (Mark Faulk, Sep 30, 2008)
Mr. Bush Regrets (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Nov 17, 2008)
What Are "Civil Rights?" (Anonymous, Dec 8, 2008)
So Help Me God (Anonymous, Jan 15, 2009)
Chase to Raise Interest Rates on Small Business and Individual Credit Card Holders (Mark Faulk, Mar 18, 2009)
Suicidal Over “Sexting” (Anonymous, Mar 31, 2009)
The Mother's Act and its (supposed) threat to the rights of parents (Anonymous, May 11, 2009)
To the Class of '09 (Sam Tran , May 28, 2009)
Enter Stage Left (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Jun 28, 2009)
One Military Under God (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Sep 3, 2009)
M-M-M-M-M-M-M-MY SHARIA (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Oct 24, 2009)
The Land of a Thousand Dances (Robin Buckallew, Nov 15, 2009)
Why I am not a Democrat (Robin Buckallew , Jan 26, 2010)
The Liberal Myth (Robin Buckallew, Mar 22, 2010)
Give Me That Old Time Repression (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Apr 19, 2010)
My Two Cents Worth (S.K. Eleton- Theocracy Watch, Apr 28, 2010)
Barking up the Wrong Tree (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch , May 16, 2010)
History Becomes Bunk (Robin Buckallew, Jun 2, 2010)
Who Has Custody of the Constitution? (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Jun 25, 2010)
Sinners and Saints (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Jul 11, 2010)
Good for Nothing (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Jul 19, 2010)
Leave Reverend Pat Alone (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Aug 22, 2010)
Not a Prayer in the World (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Sep 15, 2010)
Yes, But..... (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Oct 6, 2010)
The Conspiracy (S.K. Eleton, Oct 24, 2010)
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In Balance (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Apr 28, 2011)
Inhuman Rights (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, May 17, 2011)
Death Takes a Holiday (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch, Jun 5, 2011)
Our New Religion (S.K. Eleton, Jul 12, 2011)
NO WE CAN'T (Robin Buckallew, Aug 3, 2011)
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Proudly "Evil" (S.K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch , Jan 20, 2012)
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