Enforced Pledging That this Nation is "under god" is Unconstitutional
Once again Michael Newdow from California has brought to a Federal Court, the case against the constitutionality of the statement "under god" in public school pledges of allegiance. Once again the court agreed ruling the enforced praising of the Judeo-Christian god in publicly funded schools is unconstitutional. This case is being appealed to a higher court & will certainly reach the Supreme Court before long. The last time Newdow brought this case to the Supreme Court, they dodged the responsibility by ruling that since Newdow did not have legal custody of his daughter, he did not have grounds to file the case. This time the case has been filed by three additional parents.
In addition Newdow plans to seek similar unconstitutionality of U.S.currency stating that "we" trust in "god".
I am generally reserved & stoic however I had a difficult time maintaining my composure in the face of the excitement I felt over this ruling. Atheists are not as directly persecuted as much as they are totally disregarded. I think that the name Michael Newdow should be a part of civil liberties history.
As this case unfolds we will hear repeatedly that, through this case, Atheists are attempting to force their beleifs onto others the way we refuse to have religion forced onto us. This is a fallacious arguement & it is intolerant spin. Not allowing judeo-christiam/islamic speach to be forced onto those who do not accept said religions, is not equal to forcing atheism onto those that do. Under the constitution there is no arguement that validly defends keeping such language in the pledge. As such the religious majority will undoubtably rely on guilting & demonizing the rest of us, with repeated, false logic, until we accept their perspective. All, at the cost of the simple acknowledgment of those that disagree & the vital precept of Separation of Church and State.
As an aside, for the historians among us that feel that the antiquity of the wording of the pledge may be enough to preserve it, the addition of "under god" was not added until 1954, 63 years after the initial publishing of the pledge of allegiance. Likely, as a part of the propaganda war against the "godless" communists.
