I think it's a good ruling....
ol ron - cite for me, please, where it " emphatically, that God has been the overwhelming reason for our creation of our Constitution". I can't find it in there anywhere.
paccol - What beliefs was this country founded on? Your God's religion? If you look it up, you'll see that it was NOT founded as a Christian (or any other religious sect) nation. It was founded as a nation where everyone has the right to worship as they please. And who they please.
Lots of people are saying that no one would have a problem with this if it said, "under Allah. " That's also a bad argument becasue Allah is the same God as the Christian and Jewish faiths worship, no?
It's pretty common knowledge that it's the Judeo-Christian God referred to by "under God. " That means that if you're Christian, Jewish or Muslim, it's no big deal. What about if you're Hindu? What about if you're Buddist? Or what about if you're an athiest? What then? Many schools "encourage" you to recite the pledge of allegience. You know as well as I that if you're "different" as a kid, you become an outcast. How's that fair, equal justice and all that.
Many of the immigrants that come to this country are very patriotic. As patriotic as any of us, maybe more than some, I'd venture to guess and are proud to recite the pledge. In some cases (as in getting your citizinship) they are required to recite the pledge. Now, if you're a Buddist, for example, that could cause a dilemma for you. Yes, "If a person doesn't want to live in this country and follow the beliefs it was founded on, then they can move out!" Check your facts - that's not what the founding fathers had in mind when they crafted the Constitution. The whole issue of religion in the Constitution comes down to the fact that the Government CAN'T force religion on you nor can it deprive you from worshiping in whatever (and whomever) manner you choose. Forcing anyone who doesn't believe in "God" is, in fact, endorsing and forcing a religion on you. Can't do that.
As for the Pledge of Allegiance, it wasn't even penned until 1892 and believe it or not, it was penned by a SOCIALIST minister (Baptist) who was basically tossed out of the ministry because of his socialist sermons. The "Under God" phrase wasn't added until 1954 after a political campaign to do so by the Knights of Columbus and in the spirit of McCarthyism. (In god We Trust didn't become standard on our currency until about 1956 either. ) So... where does this fit into our Constitution? It's a construct we have made since then and including the words "Under God" give it the same effect as a prayer, since you're pledging allegiance to the flag and the republic UNDER GOD. Not the intent of the writer of the Pledge. In his own words, from
a short history of the Pledge :
"It began as an intensive communing with salient points of our national history, from the Declaration of Independence onwards; with the makings of the Constitution... with the meaning of the Civil War; with the aspiration of the people...
The true reason for allegiance to the Flag is the 'republic for which it stands. ' ... And what does that vast thing, the Republic mean? It is the concise political word for the Nation - the One Nation which the Civil War was fought to prove. To make that One Nation idea clear, we must specify that it is indivisible, as Webster and Lincoln used to repeat in their great speeches. And its future?
Just here arose the temptation of the historic slogan of the French Revolution which meant so much to Jefferson and his friends, 'Liberty, equality, fraternity. ' No, that would be too fanciful, too many thousands of years off in realization. But we as a nation do stand square on the doctrine of liberty and justice for all... "
No, personally, I think this was a good ruling. And I'm not offended in the least by the word God - unless you're trying to use it as a weapon and convert me because your way is better than mine and I'm somehow less if I don't see it your way.
Some other links:
http://www.dimensional.com/~randl/founders.htm
(Feel free to check the sources)
Here's the Treaty of Tripoli, signed in 1796 and ratified by the Senate. Note Article 11: "As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion... . "
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/barbary/bar1796t.htm