I agree with the court's ruling that the pledge of allegiance as it currently stands is unconstitutional. Despite the first amendment in the Constitution, this brain-washing saying has been a ritual at schools and public events for many years. I have no problem with the patriotic aspects of the pledge, but I don't think anyone should be required to pledge their allegiance to God. Many children who are of different faiths are too young to understand what they are saying, and this is a violation of their rights. I recognize that the majority of Americans are Christian, but one religion is not better than another religion, so it is wrong to designate one religion and attempt to make everyone believe in it or pledge themselves to it. I think the simplest solution is to just remove the word "God" from the pledge and leave it at that.

I agree, it is ridiculous that our government has put such an emphasis on a belief. I think they should take out the "In God We Trust" on all new currency, remove all forms of religious undertone from government buildings, and, although not possible, remove all religious undertone from laws and policy. It is not intelligent in any way to base a system of laws on a religion.

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"Don't get the impression that you arouse my anger. You see, one can only be angry with those he respects." -- Richard Nixon

Just don't repeat the pledge, and teach your kids to resist coerced indoctrination - they may even grow character in the process!

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"A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened."

Well, it's not that the pledge offends me, so not repeating it wouldn't help the situation from my perspective. Why bother you ask? Well, for several reasons-- one being that within the next century, the plague of theism will go by the wayside as new scientific discoveries continue to disprove its erroneous notions. The magnitude of this relentless dogma has repressed rationalism and empiricism from innumerable minds and squelched dissent since its genesis. Institutionalized, the plague becomes malignant. Venerable and wise is the man who, despite opposition from fellow citizens, is able to withstand the denunciations from religious establishments and acknowledge the fallacies of theism. When a majority of Americans become secular, (and this will happen), it seems irrelevant to acknowledge our unenlightened history in the form of government institutions. "In God We Trust", how pathetic of an international superpower to admit that we need the guidance of anything short of our rational minds. Theism, and in particular the divisions of Christianity and Islam, is by far humanity's largest logical blunder.

As for building the character of my children, I shall leave that to myself. Coerced indoctrination need not be a factor, I would naturally raise my children to discard such a deceptive doctrine. I can only hope that the representatives to my government will soon comprehend the problems theism has created for all nations.

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"Don't get the impression that you arouse my anger. You see, one can only be angry with those he respects." -- Richard Nixon

[double post]

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"Don't get the impression that you arouse my anger. You see, one can only be angry with those he respects." -- Richard Nixon

I think ianlamb and the rest of you make great points. I am not a religious person myself, but I respect religion in its appropriate spheres. I just think that the government has gone to far in trying to promote its religious ideals. Remember, a good government has separation of church and state.

hey genius your the guy that was talking about weed in my blog

Yeah, I talked about weed in your blog because I smoke weed, and when I smoke weed I think that Gary Coleman should be our next president.

Nowhere in our pledge does it say one is "pledging allegiance to God." The pledge of allegiance is to the flag of the United States of America...and to the Republic to which it stands....

It simply acknowleges that we are a nation "under God." And we are. Our nation was founded on a belief in a higher being.

Review the pledge.

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"What exactly is this foreign policy experience?" Obama said mockingly of the New York senator. "Was she negotiating treaties? Was she handling crises? The answer is no."

We are pledging our allegiance to the flag, but not to a nation under God. The framers of this great nation used Enlightenment ideas from Locke and other great philosophers as a basis for the Constitution, not religion.