i wholeheartedly agree. i remember not even thinking what i was saying when we recited the pledge... in fact it became so part of my daily autonomous activities, that sometimes i actually couldn't remember the entire minute spent doing it... i remember thinking later in the day that we didn't recite the pledge, when in fact of course we had! of course i'm absentminded and usually can't remember if i shampooed my hair while in the shower, so i probably end up doing it 2x on many days!
So you'd have no problem going on national television and proclaiming a belief that the WTC bombers were correct in their actions? What does it matter if you don't really believe it? Also, save the "I can't believe you're comparing terrorists with people who say and believe the pledge" cause I'm not. I'm just using a ridiculous extreme comparison to show that to most people, believing one thing but saying another is quite hypocritical and unacceptable.
First...I am very sensitive to the fact there are many people out there who do not believe in any deity whatsoever...while I may disagree, I totally respect your right to that. Second...kids aren't being forced to say the pledge of allegiance...amish kids don't stand up to say the pledge of allegiance...many muslim kids, including friends i grew up with, didn't stand up for the pledge, because it was said to be swearing to an allegiance to something other than God. No one is forcing anyone to say the pledge of allegiance. Third...I read the argument that this is about government imposing religious belief on people. But isn't the government the people in this country?? Isn't there self-rule??? Does law have to be completely juxtaposed to the society it serves?? All law is a product of culture...in our culture, something like 90% of the people believe there is a God. That's about as close to agreement as you'll get on any topic in the country, I bet. I doubt you'll find any topic where everyone in an entire nation agrees. Isn't the "under God" a product of our culture?? Is that really bad??? As pointed out here earlier...there are tons of historical documents, speeches, and other artifacts which point towards a culture that, while not agreeing on his essence, comes together in some way to recognize it is a nation that has been blessed by some almighty being. That's just who we are as a people... Fourth...the 9th circuit is just a joke. The rest of the country laughs at the decisions these clowns arrive at. They honestly exist in their own little universe...their decisions on a wide array of issues are so vastly different from the rest of the federal circuits and the Supreme Court it's laughable. I thank God daily I do not live in California...hope it's still constitutional to thank God for that!
Just so know one mistakes my opinion, I don't believe that the Pledge should be unconstitutional, unless it can be proven that there is widespread ridicule and/or people who disagree being forced to say it. Great post MadMax...esp. about the 9th Circuit. They've had 27 of their last 29 opinions reversed.
same for my school. totally off topic, but thought i would throw out the national horrific reaction to Abdul Rauf not standing and singing the Star Spangled Banner during a game many years ago... no mention of God in that song. what was his beef?
I am going to have to repectfully ask every whiny leftist to grow up. Being worried about the feelings of 4% of the population rather than the 96% is how we started going to hell in a handcart. There is freedom of religion. There's an important distiction here...freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion. That is why this ruling is stupid, nuts and many other adjectives. If I want my children to get a Catholic education I send them to a private Catholic school. If you are so hypersensitive to having your children grow up in a world "sanitized" from every mention of God, then you should send them to a private atheist institution. I simply cannot beileve that the mention of the word God offends people so much. Then again, it didn't take Caligula long to bring the downfall of Rome.
"In God we trust" was added well before the 1950's. It's been on the penny since 1909. It was on other coins well before that. Here is the complete info: http://www.ustreas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.html
Apparently, you are unaware of the fact that, for some religions, proclaiming their allegience to ANY GOD OTHER THAN THEIR OWN is a sin. In these instances, even saying "under God" goes against their belief systems. Would a Christian be willing to say "under Allah" or "under Krishna" or "under goddess" instead? I doubt it. It isn't a question of forcing religious beliefs, IMO. For me, it is a question of forcing A BELIEF, in this case the belief that there is "A GOD" and that this nation exists under that GOD. In at least two religions, practitioners pray to goddesses. Some don't even recognize the male deity form of "god." Others believe that there is no such thing as a god in the first place. Buddhist and Taoists are non-theistic religions. They don't have a god as part of their belief systems. This is why the government needs to stay OUT of any discussion of religion. For the most part, the average American (and the average American politician) does not understand the spiritual complexities of various religions. They just assume that saying "God" is ok for all religions because every religion has a "god" right? Wrong. This, for me, isn't even about atheism or agnosticism. This is mostly about parents having the ability to educate their children in the religion of their choice without it being questioned or challenged in a system funded by tax dollars. I agree, in general, that this is mostly an adult issue, not a kid issue. Parents spend far more time arguing about things their kids know little or nothing about than they should. But, this is a case of people not understanding and not being sensitive to the religious practices of other people and that is, at least for me, a serious issue.
I am going to have to repectfully ask every whiny leftist to grow up. Being worried about the feelings of 4% of the population rather than the 96% is how we started going to hell in a handcart. Nice! Your response is exactly the same as that of the conservatives of the 1950's and the 1850's. Those horrible leftist issues like civil rights and slavery ... Damn those leftists for letting black people be free, less alone vote! Stop protecting the minority!
This case is much ado about nothing. As MadMax said, the 9th circuit is kinda goofy and gets overturned by the Supreme Court on almost all of their opinions.
I guess these leftiest will never be happy until they have shut down Chrisitianity entirely, and elminated any sight of the words God or Jesus.
Nice try Major. Need I remind you that the pillar of the Democratic party, Tom Daschle, called this ruling "nuts?" It would be quite easy to call me an oppressive conservative, but BOTH sides of the aisle hate this ruling. BTW...wan't Lincoln a Republican and didn't he free the slaves? Just making sure your "facts" are accurate.
Yeap, gotta accomodate the God haters in this country. They certianly deserve the same attention as a race of people that were enslaved. In fact, right as I walked up my house I beat a god hater and made him get right back to work.
I wonder how many people were injured by the stampede of politicians trying to get to a camera to deride this decision. Looks like some interesting debate going on in this thread, I wish I gave a damn, but I just think the Pledge of Allegiance is silly. Forcing kids to say it is sillier still.
That's right TradeCuttino. I think he's got a point. In fact I think that the oppression of Serbian ethnic cleansing is equal to the last time Major got a speeding ticket.
