Friday, February 28, 2003

My Liberal Side Exposed
For everyone who sees me as a flag waving patriot, here comes the shocker- I am in agreement with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision stating that the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance are unconstitutional.

While I realize that for most people the Pledge is an innocuous statement of allegiance to America, that is so because we have been numbed to the actual words. When was the last time you actually thought about what "under God" meant? Replace that phrase with "under Jesus" or "under Allah" and you'll see what it actually means. It is a clear endorsement of monotheism. And while supporters of the Pledge insist that it refers to a generic god, the mere reference to a god at all is clearly in violation of the Establishment Clause. (It is interesting to note that many of the same people who claim that "under God" is not specific to a certain god are also the ones who make the most about the US being a Christian nation.)

Keep in mind, too that the original Pledge did NOT include that phrase. It was added in 1954. The impetus for the change was our fight against Communism and its atheism.

Now that the Cold War is long over, perhaps we can go back to the original Pledge. Whether we are a nation "under God" is a matter best left to theologians and not politicians.

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