Tuesday, July 02, 2002
The Pledge of Allegiance
Dr. Michael Newdow sought to remove the words "under god" from the U.S. pledge of allegiance. It was first supported by a court in California and then suspended shortly thereafter. Mr. Newdow has since become the centre of a huge ensuing furor his challenge created and he's been plagued by death threats. Just goes to show that not all religious extremists are muslim. The entire U.S. Congress went out on the steps to say the pledge after the news hit the stands. President Bush was having his photo taken reciting the pledge in schools.
Some side notes to help shed some sanity to a ridiculous story of Christianity gone awry. The original pledge never mentioned the word god which was added in 1954. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution clearly seperates church and state as was intended and yet this seems to be lost on not only the President but Congress too (could have been the Senate, I know longer remember). The First Amendment "prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion or preferring one religion over another". Mr. Newdow says, "My main concern is that government is throwing religion at the kids." I wholeheartedly agree. Good luck Mr. Newdow, you'll most certainly need it.
Dr. Michael Newdow sought to remove the words "under god" from the U.S. pledge of allegiance. It was first supported by a court in California and then suspended shortly thereafter. Mr. Newdow has since become the centre of a huge ensuing furor his challenge created and he's been plagued by death threats. Just goes to show that not all religious extremists are muslim. The entire U.S. Congress went out on the steps to say the pledge after the news hit the stands. President Bush was having his photo taken reciting the pledge in schools.
Some side notes to help shed some sanity to a ridiculous story of Christianity gone awry. The original pledge never mentioned the word god which was added in 1954. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution clearly seperates church and state as was intended and yet this seems to be lost on not only the President but Congress too (could have been the Senate, I know longer remember). The First Amendment "prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion or preferring one religion over another". Mr. Newdow says, "My main concern is that government is throwing religion at the kids." I wholeheartedly agree. Good luck Mr. Newdow, you'll most certainly need it.
