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Opinion
July 31, 2002 • page 3
The Collegian
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Judges declare pledge unconstitutional
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Counterpoint
Point
Two words do not moke U.S.
Pledge reflects freedom
I
Stuart Stuebing
if
9th Circuit's recent ruling
creates controversy, debate
Stuart Stubbing
reporter
Brian Shults
NE NEWS EDITOR
Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Americas.
In 1924 “My Flag” was changed to “the flag of
the United States of America.”
The Supreme Court held that schools could not
make kids say the pledge in 1943..
Voluntary recitation of the pledge, however, has
continued since that decision.
Citing a concurring opinion from a Supreme
Court decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in San Francisco said, “The Pledge, as cur-
rently codified, is an impermissible government en-
dorsement of religion because it sends a message to
unbelievers that they are outsiders, not full members
of the political community, and an accompanying
message to adherents that they are insiders, favored
members of the political community.”
Michael A. Newdow, a San Francisco lawyer
and physician, is the man who filed the suit.
Newdow said his goal was simply to separate
church and state, and that he will continue his ef-
forts to do so.
The 9th Circuit Court, which wrote the contro-
versial decision, has become known for its unprece-
dented interpretations of the law.
The Court is considered by legal scholars to be
one of the most liberal courts our nation has ever
seen.
The 9th Circuit is also currently the most over-
turned court in the country.
are, not a recitation of a pledge.
American history has given us a
proud heritage of penance and victory,
from abolishing slavery to overcoming
European fascism.
And now that America faces a
fight against terrorism and theocratic
fascism, any schism allowed from the
ideal American stoicism is an ugly
concession of the American Spirit—an
intangible so much nobler and mag-
nanimous than any pledge can be.
Roxanna Latifi
REPORTER
chose journalism as a major), the right to bear arms
(even though the government has put several restric-
tions on that) and the freedom of religion (I think there
is a gentlemen in prison because he has four wives and ,
I believe the ATF had an incident with a religious cult
in Waco).
Anyway, you get the point.
Just like you and every other American, I have
rights.
Now before you start calling me a communist pig,
I did voluntarily serve this country honorably for eight
and a half years in the U.S. Army. I defended Kuwait
against Iraqi aggression during the Gulf War.
Throughout my career, I deployed around the
world to various hotspots on peacekeeping missions.
No, I do not think I deserve a medal or a handout
for serving my country, but I do feel that I really ac-
complished a lot.
I feel proud when I tune into CNN and see Sadam
Hussein smiling slyly at the camera or when I see the
movie Black Hawk Down and witness my brothers in
arms being slaughtered because the Clinton administra-
tion had an inability to let our military commanders do
their job in Somailia.
Just so you know, the first thing I am doing tomor-
row is purchasing a 99-cent bumper sticker for my new
$33,000 Japanese car so I can show how patriotic I am.
4 4 Is it the logo on the U.S. dollar
that makes us proud to be Americans?
Or are we proud to be Americans be-
cause we have a Wal-Mart on every
street comer that stays open 24 hours
a day?”
tutional; therefore, you have no job, which means
your ruling doesn’t mean anything,” he said.
If the ruling stands, we would have to change
our currency; on every dollar and coin carries the
phrase “In God We Trust.”
No one has ever taken a dollar bill to the
Supreme Court and declared it unconstitutional.
And I am sure that if these two judges were to re-
ceive ten billion of these dollar bills, they would
spend the money father than refuse it because the
money is unconstitutional. Besides, they spend
their paychecks that are paid by money that is un-
constitutional.
The Declaration of Independence holds sev-
eral references to a creator or, if you will, God.
Our Founding Fathers wrote this intriguing
document fueled by the thought that the creation
of America would hold truth and justice to natural
law, laws that are inherited and cannot be taken
away from any one person because all are created
equal and are born under natural law.
However if one were to ignore this concept,
then one would have to honestly ask himself
where these laws come from.
Millions of immigrants from all over the
world risk their lives to seek America’s liberty.
Mind you, America’s liberty is possible because
we are one nation, under God.
And the last time someone explained to me
what a democracy is, it was majority rule.
Therefore, the majority will continue believing in
God.
I now must question if hearing God Bless
America or America the Beautiful was unconstitu-
tional. During the Sept. 11 tragedies, did anyone
stop the singing of these songs saying they were
unconstitutional? I think not.
America needs to be now—more than ever—
one nation under God.
1
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by Nick Nance
managing editor
A boundary has been established separating
church and state, again; this time the implications
are more noticeable.
In one of the most controversial court rulings in
recent years, a federal appeals court ruled reciting
the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is an un-
constitutional endorsement of religion.
Francis Bellamy wrote the Pledge of Allegiance
in 1892 for a children’s magazine. Bellamy was a
preacher, teacher and editor; his visions of a middle-
class utopia inspired his original pledge.
Bellamy’s original version, however, would not
have been ruled unconstitutional.
It is the phrase “under God,” added in 1954 by
congress and approved by President Dwight D.
Eisenhower, that is considered a religious endorse-
ment.
The addition of the phrase was in response to a
■ request from the Knights of Columbus, a religious
fraternal organization.
After the addition Eisenhower said, “From this
day forward, the millions of our school children will
i daily proclaim in every city and town, every village
and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our Nation
; and our people to the Almighty.”
The pledge was first recited in schools in com-
; memoration of the 400-year anniversary of
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We live in a democ-
racy where America is the
home of the free and of
the brave. I think most
would agree that this
freedom is a gift from
God, and that we are truly
blessed to live in a coun-
try as great as America.
So why would some-
one wish to deny this gift
from God? It is after all a
blessing that shouldn’t go unnoticed.
The phrase “under God” in the Pledge of
Allegiance was deemed unconstitutional by two
judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals.
However, if one wishes to nit-pick and start
there, why not change our court system, our cur-
rency, the Declaration of Independence, the
Gettysburg Address or the numerous other arti-
cles that all contain references to God?
When people step into court and are about to
take the stand, they are forced by law to swear
that they are telling the truth, and the whole truth
under God. Furthermore, they actually swear on
the Bible, something that I’m sure everyone
would agree has something to do with, once
again, God.
Most public officials also recite the words
“under God” when taking an oath of office.
Dennis Miller, comedian and television per-
sonality, confronted the two judges who declared
the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional.
“So, Your Honor, the Pledge is unconstitu-
tional because it says ‘Under God,’ Guess that
means when you were sworn in with your hand
on a Bible and at the end of your oath repeated,
‘So help me God,’ that makes your job unconsti-
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serted “under
God” so that
Americans
could display
their faith in
God in a
counter ac-
tion to the
atheistic
Soviet Union.
The nation,
being at the
rising tide of the Cold War, concurred
that anything which gave peace of
mind during those pernicious times
was worth a shot.
I believe one of the dominant ar-
guments against removal is the fear of
how such a deletion would reflect on
our country, our moral bedrock, etc.
Yet the more important question is how
the cacophony of citizens decrying the
court’s decision and their rhetoric re-
flect on the resolve of our nation.
However, a deletion of the phrase
“under God,” as a friend of mine point-
ed out, would not be stating that we are truly define what type of people we
a nation without a god; it simply would
not be saying anything about God. It
would be neutral, neither confirming
nor denying. Thus it would leave the
decision of religion and faith solely to
the individual, to whom it belongs, as
the Founding Fathers intended.
Neutrality does not imply denial,
which is something frequently over-
looked in modern religious society; it
does not imply anything. Absence of
evidence is not evidence of absence.
Recently, to the chagrin of many
Americans, a federal appeals court
ruled the Pledge of Allegiance uncon-
stitutional, stating it violated the First
Amendment’s Establishment Clause
because it uses the phrase “under
God.” This catalyzed a frenzy of right-
eous indignation in just about every
public figure. What a shame.
It is a shame because politicians
felt the need to posture themselves in
accordance with the 95 percent of
Americans who say they believe in a
god.
The Senate quickly passed an
amendment refuting the decision, and
the House called out the media hounds
and before a deluge of cameras dutiful-
ly recited the Pledge so evening news
viewers would know whose side they
were on.
The shame comes in how our pub-
lic leaders reflect us. Are we so skit-
tish a nation that we cannot pause for a
moment and have a calm, lucid debate
on the subject?
If we discuss the rationale behind
its being unconstitutional, our heads
are not going to explode and the earth
is not going to open beneath our feet
swallowing us into an inimical abyss,
probably (at least it hasn’t happened
yet).
Let’s discuss this then. The
I Establishment Clause forbids the gov-
ernment from exercising any religious
nepotism, hence no official religion or
endorsement thereof. President
Eisenhower and Congress, in 1954, in-
More important is how the majori-
ty of citizens’ knee-jerk reactions of
disgust reflect on our resolve as a na-
tion.
The Pledge of Allegiance is a sin-
gle paragraph that we recite as a sym-
bolic gesture of unity and patriotism,
which we share with each other and is
useful in its own right.
With or without the phrase “under
God,” the Pledge is essentially words,
and there are no actions within.
The Pledge does not fight for our
freedom; it fights no wars for us.
Liberty is not secured by it (it is mere-
ly a reflection of liberty).
It does not keep our markets free,
nor does it distribute equal voting
rights. It does not intrinsically make
us the democratic nation we believe in
and find solace with.
I am concerned that we have al-
ready or are becoming a people who
define ourselves by an arbitrary litany,
instead of by actions. Our deeds and
the way we choose to live our lives
our families to professional sporting events and spend
over $100 for parking, sodas and souvenirs.
Okay, at this point, you would probably feel proud
if I were shot.
Right?
Well, I am an American, and I have rights.
According to the Bill of Rights, some of those
rights are freedom of speech (maybe, that is why I
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Since the 9-11 attacks, I
have seen a lot of patriotism in
Texas, and it is evident that our
people are proud to be
; Americans.
I see bumper stickers all
i the time that read, “I am proud
■. to be an American.”
I drive down the road and
see flags attached to cars, and I
have been to sporting events
and witnessed people with their
faces and bodies painted red, white and blue.
Recently, at a movie theatre, I saw a short clip
from Lee Greenwood singing his song / am Proud to be
an American. When the song was finished, the audi-
' ence applauded and whistled. Wow, I was feeling patri-
otic.
Before I can begin to be proud to be an American
though, I must ask myself what is an American? Is an
American a person, or is it an ideal or a way of life?
Are we proud to be Americans because of the
Japanese cars we drive or is it because we can go to
Best Buy and purchase all the Japanese electronics we
want? Is it the convenience of fast food restaurants that
are open 24 hours a day at that makes us proud to be
Americans?
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A ■
Viewpoint
Americans express patriotism in multitude of manners
Clinton blatantly lied under oath several times but was
acquitted after a multi-million dollar investigation by
Kenneth Starr.
We are proud to be Americans because we have
teen idols like Snoop Dogg and Britney Spears and
other thugs that our youths look up to and worship.
We are proud to be Americans because we can take
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Is it the accessibility of all the corporate Block
Buster Video and Walgreen’s stores on every street cor-
ner that makes us proud to be Americans? Is it MTV?
Is it the logo on the U.S. dollar that says “In God
We trust” that makes us proud to be an American?
Or are we proud to be an Americans because we
have a Wal-Mart on every street corner that stays open
24 hours a day but pays its employees minimum wage
to work there?
Are we proud to be Americans because it cost our
president over $60 million dollars to get elected?
Oh yeah, anybody can be President in America.
That is what I learned in U.S. history. How much did it
cost Lincoln to get elected?
I think I know why we are proud to be Americans.
I bet we are proud to be Americans because we killed
the American Indians for their lands and herded them
off to remote reservations.
Or we are proud to be Americans because of the
cruel and unusual ways we treated the black African
slaves when we kidnapped them and brought them to
this country.
I think we are proud to be Americans because we
let our Supreme Court elect President Bush by stopping
the re-count in Florida and, in effect, discounted the
minority vote (oh yeah, your vote counts).
I think we are proud to be Americans because
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The Collegian (Hurst, Tex.), Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 31, 2002, newspaper, July 31, 2002; Hurst, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1315543/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarrant County College NE, Heritage Room.