When a federal appeals court declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because of the words
"under God" added by Congress in 1954, the decision was roundly condemned as being against the
Pledge itself, when what the court was doing was upholding not only the Pledge, but the Constitution,
and the principles of American democracy.

"A profession that we are a nation `under God' is identical, for Establishment Clause purposes,
to a profession that we are a nation `under Jesus,' a nation `under Vishnu,' a nation `under
Zeus,' or a nation `under no god,' because none of these professions can be neutral with
respect to religion," - Judge Alfred T. Goodwin

but only one day later...after the president and congress labeled this "nuts" the decision is now on hold
pending a decision that will ultimately go up to the Supreme Court, which will have to then interpret the First
Amendment, which guarantees that Government will not establish religion.

The appeals court said that when President Eisenhower signed the legislation inserting "under God" after
the words "one nation," he wrote that "millions of our schoolchildren will daily proclaim in every city and
town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our nation and our people to the
Almighty."

What should we do? Simple. Restore the original pledge, remove "under God" so citizens can rightly
pledge allegiance to a democratic country again, not a theocracy. And while we're about it, why not get
those dollar bills corrected, too.  In The People we Trust

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America,
and to the Republic, for which it stands;
one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Further Reading: Pledge Ruling Stems from Constitution "Decision might seem nutty but separation of church and state is a sound concept that works to guarantee freedom of religion"

 "Whenever we remove a brick from the wall that was designed to separate religion and government, we increase the risk of religious strife and weaken the foundation of our democracy." - Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens

Our Ratifiers Commentary on this subject:
Democracy and God: Songs to sing in the War on Terrorism
 
 

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