"under God" gotta go
"I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." George H. W. Bush
Should the two words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance be removed? Yes. Hands down, no questions asked, no debate necessary, yes. Why? Because the implication of that line is that to be a patriot you must believe in god. For those of you that don't know, the words "under God" were not even part of the original Pledge and were added in 1954 by President Eisenhower after he was pressured to add the line by a Catholic group called the Knights of Columbus. If you find this hard to believe, read the Wiki.
Now I could bitch and moan all I like about my opinion of how athiests are certainly capable of being patriots and how we are guaranteed religious freedoms by the Constitution, but I found a story on the Atheist Ethicist site that explains the same situation but from the perspective of race. I found the argument both fair and very compelling, so I share it here in the hopes that more people, religious people specifically, will come to realize that the Pledge should be restored to its former state so that we truly can be one nation, indivisble, with liberty and justice for all. You can read the story for yourself here: More Perspective on the Pledge.
This post may be unpopular, but, as a near atheist, I feel the need to share.
Should the two words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance be removed? Yes. Hands down, no questions asked, no debate necessary, yes. Why? Because the implication of that line is that to be a patriot you must believe in god. For those of you that don't know, the words "under God" were not even part of the original Pledge and were added in 1954 by President Eisenhower after he was pressured to add the line by a Catholic group called the Knights of Columbus. If you find this hard to believe, read the Wiki.
Now I could bitch and moan all I like about my opinion of how athiests are certainly capable of being patriots and how we are guaranteed religious freedoms by the Constitution, but I found a story on the Atheist Ethicist site that explains the same situation but from the perspective of race. I found the argument both fair and very compelling, so I share it here in the hopes that more people, religious people specifically, will come to realize that the Pledge should be restored to its former state so that we truly can be one nation, indivisble, with liberty and justice for all. You can read the story for yourself here: More Perspective on the Pledge.
This post may be unpopular, but, as a near atheist, I feel the need to share.
posted by Ethyachk | 9:29 AM
2 Comments:
Please don't judge me based upon the comments of the worst president in United States history. Just because he and I both believe in Christ, doesn't mean that I agree with him in total.
What the religious right forgets is that this country was founded on the principle of freedom to practice any religion you want. I don't give a fuck if you're a crazy Protestant, an apathetic Catholic, a die-hard Jew, or an atheist; you have the right to believe in whatever you'd like providing you don't take the right away from me to believe in whomever I choose.
It's the self-appointed "flag-bearers" of Christianity that end up fucking us.
It was those "flag-bearers" that fought so hard to get those two words added to the pledge and it's still those people who are fighting so hard to keep the words in. Religious extremists are the problem. I'm pretty sure those people who like "under God" are the same people who fought so hard to keep a Muslim out of Congress.
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