Thursday, August 11, 2005

The Pledge of Allegiance: The Next Generation

CNN on-line reports ("Appeals Court Upholds Pledge Law") that a three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a suit filed against a public school system requiring daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
"Undoubtedly, the pledge contains a religious phrase, and it is demeaning to persons of any faith to assert that the words 'under God' contain no religious significance," Judge Karen Williams wrote. "The inclusion of those two words, however, does not alter the nature of the pledge as a patriotic activity."
Look for this case in a Supreme Court near you.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let's see if I get this:

"Undoubtedly, the pledge contains a religious phrase, and it is demeaning to persons of any faith to assert that the words 'under Jesus' contain no religious significance," Judge Karen Williams wrote. "The inclusion of those two words, however, does not alter the nature of the pledge as a patriotic activity."

"Undoubtedly, the pledge contains a religious phrase, and it is demeaning to persons of any faith to assert that the words 'under Vishnu' contain no religious significance," Judge Karen Williams wrote. "The inclusion of those two words, however, does not alter the nature of the pledge as a patriotic activity."

This is fun:

"Undoubtedly, the pledge contains a religious phrase, and it is demeaning to persons of any faith to assert that the words 'under Satan' contain no religious significance," Judge Karen Williams wrote. "The inclusion of those two words, however, does not alter the nature of the pledge as a patriotic activity."

Albert Rogers said...

Oddly enough, Jesus of Nazareth condemned such usage of the Name of God. In Matthew chapter 6, he declared the commandment against taking that name in vain, insufficient.
It refers to the practice of swearing to the truth of the user's claims, and to his fulfilment of a pledge.
According to Jesus, an honest man adds nothing to his probity by larding his language with any such oath, and the words "under God" are therefore only there to puff up a "vain repetition, such as the heathen do".

Besides, the entire rigmarole of the Pledge would be better expressed more concisely, as "I pledge allegiance to the United States of America" with no further bombast.
I have pledged such allegiance once, when I renounced my allegiance to the British Crown, and consider myself bound by that pledge until I feel obliged formally to renounce it. Mere repetition of gobbledygook does not impress nor inspire me.