Saturday, March 18, 2006

Weekend rant - the pledge

Hi all! Sorry for my long absence and for my general lack of posts over the past few weeks. Anyway, "let's get back to the action" as they say! I have a lot on my mind and it's time to start sharing some of these rants I've wanted to share for a while.

Last week I got a forwarded email from a friend of mine that really got under my skin. Now keep in mind that my friend is a blue-collar rural redneck with a high school education, so this is the kind of narrow-minded blather I would expect from her. What really surprised me, though, was her reaction when I tried to share my point of view with her. But hey, if she doesn't want to hear what I have to say, maybe you do.

Anyway, the email I received was titled Proud American (actually, it was titled "pROUD aMERICAN"). It started with the Pledge of Allegiance, with the line "one nation under God" underlined... so I already knew where this email was headed. Following the pledge was the following text:

I was asked to send this on if I agree or delete if I don't. It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a problem in having "In God We Trust" on our money and having "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.


I won't quote it exactly, but the reply I sent to my friend went something like this:

First of all, America was founded on the principles of freedom of religion and more importantly, freedom from forced religion and freedom from persecution for your religious beliefs. This protection extends even to those who choose to practice no religion. 86% of Americans may believe in God but that leaves 14% of Americans whose religious views are basically ignored. Also, keep in mind that only 32% of the world is Christian. [I thought I had read 10% once, but I just double-checked that figure.] The phrase "under God" may seem harmless, but to Wiccans, Buddhists, and some other religions (not to mention atheists), it is a statement that cannot be said without directly conflicting with their own views.

Some people say that the pledge should be optional and that if you don't want to say "under God" then you don't have to. But keep in mind the words that surround that phrase -- "one nation ... indivisible". Dividing classrooms into those that say the pledge and those that don't -- "believers" and "non-believers" -- goes directly against the basic philosophy of the pledge, not to mention makes kids feel like they are "different" or "outcasts".

The thing to remember is that while the founding fathers may have been religious men, they founded this country on the principle of religious FREEDOM. I'm sure if they knew how we have incorporated our Judeo-Christian belief in one God into our schools, money, and other government-run facets of our lives, they would be rolling over in their graves.

2 comments:

Jen said...

Hear, hear. It's a shame that people think that just because you're trying to open peoples' eyes, it means you're un-American.

Jamie the ParkHopper said...

I had a similar experience around Christmas. A former co-worker (who is now a manager in our very diversity-oriented company) sent out a mass e-mail blasting the post office for creating a stamp celebrating the Muslim holiday Eid. The e-mail actually encouraged people to complain loudly about the stamp at their local post office. I e-mailed her back pointing out that all Muslims aren't terrorists... and she never wrote me back.

I hope that's because she feels stupid about sending it out in the first place and not because she thinks I'm un-American!!