Mark Hooper wrote:
>
> -- Federal appeals court rules Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because
> of words 'under God,' according to The Associated Press.
> Watch CNN or log on to http://CNN.com /AOL Keyword: CNN for the latest news.
>
> Another one of those "Only in the USA" moments? Is this a change of heart, a
> hoax? I thought you lot were very proud of that pledge?
>
Unfortunately this is not a hoax. The most ridiculous part of this whole thing
to me is the court's reasoning:
"the words [under God] violated the basic Constitutional tenet of separation
of church and state."
It amazes me that a high court of law can be so ignorant of what the
Constitution
actually says, that they could make this the pillar of their reasoning. There
is
no tenet, not even a clause, that says there should be a seperation of church
and
state. The Constitution merely says that the government cannot promote a
particular
religion, i.e., there can be no state religion, something the Founding Fathers
feared because of their experiences with the Anglican church in England. That
state-
sponsored church was the reason many of the colonists came over here in the
first
place!
The Founding Fathers never intended to remove God and religion from government.
On
the contrary, they wholly embraced it at every turn. The Constitutional
convention
began each days' proceedings with prayer, our coins (for the time being)
display to
the world the words "In God We Trust", and even the Supreme Court itself begins
each session with the words "God save the United States and this honorable
court".
I could give countless other examples, all of which show that the current
interpretation
of the Constitution is by no stretch of the imagination what was originally
intended.
I think it was James Madison who said (I'm paraphrasing here) that a democratic
republic could only exist in a society which had as it's foundation a belief in
God
and a dedication to the moral principles of faith, virtue, and integrity. He
even
went so far as to say that if the people no longer espoused these views, their
"democratic experiment" would probably fail. Since I believe everyone is
entitled
to their own opinion, I also believe I'm entitled to mine. And mine is, God
help
those people who would turn their back on God, after He raised up His hand to
create
and perserve this great nation, where religious freedom abounds.
I'm off my soap box now. Let the flames begin . . . ;)
Todd Richmond
Obligatory LBC content: I took delivery of a new (to me) body shell for my
TR3A. The shell is in great shape, and almost ready for painting -- should
take years off my project timetable.
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