We have a father aruging in front of the Supreme Court that his daughter should not be forced to say the words "Under God" during the pledge of allegiance. Well, now. The father is an atheist. The mother is a born again Christian. The child appears to be the product of divorce.
Should we end the reference to a god? Our forefathers came here to find religious freedom. Our country embraces thousands of religions. Our school administrators scramble to accommodate them, sometimes poorly. My child was called to the office once and accused of being a witch. She was maybe 13 years old. She will never forget the degrading way she was treated for possibly being a member of a legitimate religion. She wasn't a witch, or a member of any organized religion, but she sure learned in a hurry why our forefathers fled religious oppression.
Most Americans do believe in some sort of god. It may be a personal issue, an organized one, a vague thought, or just a fear of believing in nothing. Maybe some children don't like the colors of the flag. Or republics. The point is, they are pledging allegiance to their country, the one that gives them freedom to say I don't believe in *whatever.*
Let the atheists, like me, accept that the pledge is not religious oppression. It is pledging allegiance to a country that believes in freedom. Skip over the offending words; it won't hurt.
5 comments:
You an atheist? Oh, that's right, you bought a Toyota. And you, living right there in Ford country. You know I'm only teasing. Michigan is living proof that there is no God, or if He does exist, He should admit that Michigan was a mistake.
The ridiculousness of the world never ceases to amaze me....
This is a country "of the people, by the people and for the people". We are not "under" a king, a despot, a Cesear, a Pharoh, or a government that makes itself a diety like communism.
We- the people - are under nothing except God who gave us certain unalienable rights. It is a principle of governence that should be constantly affirmed and remembered.
"endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights"
People fear what they don't know.
I'm not sure about this Rwermap person... he/she isn't speaking for me when he/she says "we"...
According to this recent PBS series, Colonial House, a good percentage of our forefathers did not come to this country for religious freedom, but to earn a profit for companies back in England!
Your rant seems reasonable to me, Suz, but what do I know, I'm a sinner.
--Albert
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