2002-06-27 - 9:32 a.m.
Hmm...it's Thursday...must be time for me to say something unpopular...
The 9th District Court of Appeals actually did something real and courageous yesterday.
They read the Constitution.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"
That's the first clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. Note that it doesn't say "establishment of A religion", it says an establishment of religion.
In other words, God may or may not exist, the Christians may be right, the Buddhists may be right, the Moslems may be right, or they may all be wrong, it doesn't matter, government stays out of it.
There is a place for religious education, it is in the home, or in the Church (Mosque/Synagogue/whatever), it is *NOT* in the Public Schools.
The original text of the Pledge of Allegiance did not contain the words "Under God", the line was One Nation, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. The words were added in the 1950's, surprisingly enough as a response to fears of Communism.
To me, a more accurate phrase might have been "One Nation, under Capitalism"...but apparently the Red-Baiters thought Co-Opting God would be a better play.
No one should be forced to acknowledge a God. And saying "This country exists because of God" is acknowledging a God.
There are several Religions which say that there may be more than one God. Are they free to say "Under the Gods"?...Nope...not per the wording established by Congress.
There is a significant minority of people in the country who do not believe in any God. Are they free to say "One Nation, free from influence by those who belive their God is the right God"?...Nope.
If you're Christian...how would you feel if you had to say every day "One Nation, under Allah"?
If you're Jewish...how's about "One Nation, under Jesus Christ"?
Or "One Nation, under Thor?"
Yes, a plurality of folks in the United States identify as Christian (in one form or another), but the primary principle this country was founded under was that the Majority had to respect the Minority and not trample on their civil liberties.
The Majority isn't always right.
In the early 1800's, a Majority of folks thought slavery was okay.
In the 1960's, a Majority of folks in some states thought Blacks should be second class citizens.
Today there are a large number of folks who think anyone who isn't a Christian should be second class citizens.
Got news for y'all. That's not how this country was founded.
The Founding Fathers weren't all Christian. Matter of fact, they weren't all members of any religion at all.
Many of them believed in an ethos where God, if he existed at all, was a sort of clockbuilder, who set up the Universe and let it run. There were some who professed belief in Christianity, but of those, most did not subscribe to the "Son of God" theory, they subscribed to the "A man who was gifted by an understanding of the human condition" theory...more Unitarian than Baptist, to stretch a point.
"God" may or may not exist, I know not. I know that more harm has been done in the alleged name of God in the past 4,000 years than any other single cause.
If he exists, he couldn't possibly be happy about it.
So no, the Pledge shouldn't have "Under God" in it. Or if it must, it has no place in anyplace where folks are made to go, and children are made to go to school.
You want your kids to say the pledge of allegiance...fine...get em up 5 minutes earlier and have your little flag raising and Pledge ceremony on your front yard before school. But don't think that makes you patriotic.
Patriotism is more than just going through the motions of worshipping a symbol, it is actually living the life that symbol stands for.
The Flag stands for the freedom to say (or not say) what you want.
The Flag stands for the freedom to choose your leaders, rather than have them chosen for you by military might or happenstance of birth.
The Flag stands for your right to decide if you want to be a Doctor or a Lawyer or a Garbageman, based on your desires for your life.
The Flag stands for your right to decide whether you want to buy a new house or save your money for later.
The Flag, strangely enough, stands for your freedom to destroy a flag to make the point that the freedoms the Flag represents are being destroyed by others.
The Flag stands for your freedom to Worship or not Worship one or many dieties of your choosing at the time and place of your choosing.
The Flag stands for your right to not have to be present or participate when someone else Worships the diety of their choosing.
And that's why the Court stood up and did the right thing.
Unfortunately, I suspect the entire panel of the 9th District won't agree and will reverse the decision on appeal. Alternatively, the Supreme Court and the 5 judge majority who has forgotten what it means to care for the Constitution rather than to Rule the Country will.
And that's a pity.
�
Random�
