Thanks for vote
Free to skip passage Isn’t it amazing how two innocuous little words can divide people so: “Under God.” As well intentioned as they were, and are, they help define the walls so many of us put up.
On one hand, the Founding Fathers committed treason against the crown, in an act of faith, believing God would smile down upon their efforts to free the people from the king’s tyranny.
On the other hand, they wanted to be free from the church’s use of government force, amending their own constitution to remain neutral in matters pertaining to the very God they themselves had prayed to.
So, when the words “Under God” were added to the pledge, this sort of flies in the face of the First Amendment, which requires Congress to stay out of matters concerning the church. It doesn’t block anyone, including members of Congress, from worshiping in the church of their choice, only from imposing any religious beliefs on someone who may not see things their way.
I’m led to believe, and I could be mistaken, that the reference to God was an “in your face” directed at the godless Communists, a way of telling them that they will never break us, and, God willing, we will win. And, of course, we did.
But, America is the great melting pot. In this light, “one nation, under Buddha” doesn’t sound quite right. Nor does “one nation, rooted in Mother Earth.” And definitely, “one nation, united under Baal,” really misses the mark.
There was a time when basic morality came from people doing the right thing, especially when you were sure nobody was watching. Nobody you could see, anyway.
But, believer and non-believer alike, most of us tend to be judgmental of each other, and the “Under God” reference is definitely a hot button issue. It becomes a case of your patriotism being measured by your belief in a non-physical deity, the two matters being mutually exclusive.
In the Vietnam war, how many God-fearing, American Christians wanted to know where God was, as some Viet Cong was shooting their legs off? Their faith may have temporarily left them, and they may have hated the war, and everything to do with it, but they were true patriots, and God, as they saw Him, would forgive their deflated image of Him.
And God, if He indeed exists, has to look at the human species, and in a manner not unlike Mary Shelley’s Dr. Frankenstein, think, “What have I done?”
So, instead of fighting, put parentheses around the words “Under God.” If you believe in Him, declare it proudly. If you don’t, pause, and take a breath as your fellow beings enjoy the same freedoms bestowed upon you – the right to believe – and the duty to think for your self.
Jerry Hamric
Uniontown