One nation under God
The same old group of trouble makers has taken another tangent toward making headlines. This time it's the phrase "one nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.
There's a simple solution. If they object to the phase, don't use it. If they object to reciting the pledge, don't stand up. If they want to burn the flag, light a match. These are among our great American freedoms. We can do as we please as long as our action doesn't harm others.
We respect their desire to honor God, or not honor their god or someone else's god (capitalized or lower case). The choice is theirs.
Years ago we had friends who came over from the "old country" and were not naturalized citizens. They proudly stood for Old Glory and recited the pledge, though they didn't have to. Nobody made them do it. They were doing so because they wanted to. Some of our friends were Mexican citizens, also not required to recite our pledge or stand for Old Glory but they did so. When they were older these same boys served in time of war.
Few of us know what, or who, God may be. Is it, he or she, a person or a spirit, or a supernatural power? That, gentle reader, is up to you.
God is the object of faith in monotheistic religions. If you have no religious beliefs, then you have no God. But there are those who do. They should not be deprived from expressing their faith any more than non-believers be forced to worship.
The only thing we ask is that if you recite the Pledge of Allegiance you do so properly. There is no comma between "nation" and "under God." Don't pause. That little comma makes a big difference in the meaning.
— BILL MEYER
