U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled that the pledge's reference to one nation "under God" violates school children's right to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God."
Oh, please! When does this ‘crap’ end? I bet my 10-year-old Granddaughter had no idea that she was in fact being coerced into affirming anything…that the subtle undertones of religion were in fact entering her brain and eating at her very own ability to make decisions later in life as an adult. I am so pleased to see that Michael Newdow was once again going to the courts of our land to strike any mention of God. You might remember Mr. Newdow as the self-avowed atheist from Sacramento who fought to have the words Under God removed 3 years ago from the “Pledge of Allegiance.”
Let me state that I am a big fan of the separation of church and state and most religions also have no issue with that. Let me also be clear that I have no tolerance for those who believe God “picks favorite countries.”
That being said, I am also a big fan of tradition and history. The “Pledge of Allegiance” is what it is. It does not identify which God we are speaking of... the Christian Jehovah, the Muslim Allah, or Yahweh of the Jewish faith. Heck, it doesn’t even exclude Money and Power as being what many folks tend to serve. In the words of Robert Zimmerman, “You have to serve somebody”.
I like my “Pledge of Allegiance” just the way it is, just like I am a fan of the “National Anthem”; though, if pushed, I actually like “God Bless America” a bit better and it seems a tad easier to sing.
I lived in Canada for a number of years and recall not being allowed to sing the line, “Our home and Native Land” by my 5th grade teacher because we were ‘foreigners.’ I bonded with the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the class. A few years ago, I went back to attend a function and joined right in on the Canadian national anthem, only to discover that they had changed some of the lyrics. I hate to think we would consider anything so stupid.
Shouldn’t there be a rule that states you can’t continue to revisit silly lawsuits? You tried; you lost; now go back and do something productive with your life besides being annoying. Is this the most important thing you have on your plate?
