ATHEISTS SUPPORT STUDENT PROTESTS OF “GOD PLEDGE”An Atheist civil rights group announced its support today for Boulder,Colorado high school students who are protesting the inclusion of thewords “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.Students gathered on Thursday for a rally as the Pledge was read overtheir school’s public address system. Members of the Student WorkerClub want school officials to hold the pledge in the school auditoriumduring lunch periods. Protesters also intend to recite their ownversion which omits the reference to a god, and includes mention ofconstitutional rights.The phrase “under God” was not part of the original pledge. It wasadded in 1954 through an Act of Congress.Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists expressed support for thestudents.”The ‘god’ reference in our Pledge of Allegiance excludes millions ofAtheists and other non-believers, and sends the message that they arenot part of the American way of life,” said Johnson. “It is a religiousdeclaration and has no place in a society which values individualfreedom and the right of conscience.”Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists, said thatthe 2004 Colorado law that requires schools to recite the pledge doesnot require students to participate.”The students are on firm legal ground here, and the U.S. Supreme Courthas ruled that no one may be required to participate in the pledgeceremony,” said Silverman. “But requiring certain students, includingAtheists to simply remain silent while others recite the pledge isn’t anappropriate solution.”Silverman added that those who choose not to participate risk beingsingled out and made victims of peer pressure, disapproval and evenviolence.AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights forAtheists; works for the total separation of church and state; andaddresses issues of First Amendment public policy.American Atheists, Inc.P. O. Box 5733Parsippany, NJ 07054-6733Tel.: (908) 276-7300Fax: (908) 276-7402
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I wonder if this will make it on Faux News.
Kudos to the principle for supporting the rights of the students to protest. I haven’t heard if any action was taken against the kids who participated, but I read where the principle was at least understanding.
Thanks for standing up for real American values and defending the Constitution. These kids were brave to go against peer pressure and commit this act of noncompliance against religious bullying.
This episode makes me want to ask why do so many xians always proclaim that America was founded as a xian nation by xians when exactly the opposite is true? When I learned American history I was taught that the Founding Fathers founded our nation with a strong wall between church and state, for the protection of both, because they had seen the negative impact on liberty from state mandated religion in Europe. I learned that European immigrants saw America as a way to escape religious persecution back home. What history books are xians reading where a fantasy group of evangelical xian Founding Fathers established a state church which was a branch of the government? Why don’t they get challenged more when they revise history?
Digi Eyes
Bill O’Reilly was already “outraged” over this story this past Friday night.
Isn’t it about time for him to start pissing and moaning about the non existent “War on Xmas”? It seems to have become his own one man crusade these past couple years.
If any of you have kids in public schools who are expected to recite the pledge with the words “under god” in it please sit them down and talk about their options.
Alex,
That is great advice. I have instructed my children that if ‘they’ feel uncomfortable saying the “unter Gott” part, they need only remain silent for that brief moment, and continue on with the rest of the pledge.
When they get older, maybe they will stand out in the hall whenever the pledge is said. I don’t know. It will be up to them. I will not push them one way or the other. I will only support them, whatever they do.
Right now, they are both in a class with less than 20 students, and at their age, they would be ostracized without a doubt. Besides, I really have no problem with the secular part of the pledge.
They plan to keep doing this each Thursday! Hurrah for them! And the principal seems to be level-headed too.
I thought the students’ idea of moving the pledge to lunch time was a good one. That way it doesn’t take away from education time. But that has already been nixed.
Will have to follow this story and see what else happens. Good to know there are motivated young freethinkers out there.
Rationality. Coming to a high school near you.
Bravo. Those are some courageous students.
Any minute now Phreedm is going to post and anyone like to bet on what his post will say.Let me have a go!!
This is a Xtian nation founded by Xtians.
The Treaty of Tripoli was a bad translation.
This is one nation under God,(his God) and if you don’t like it leave.
The separation of church and state is
false.
We have majority rule,so Xtianity rules. add nauseam.
Ren,
Advise your kids to stand and recite the pledge but skip over saying the words “under god” which in a classroom full of kids no one will notice. This is an easy out for them which allows them to still be true to their convictions.
When I was in high school me and a muslim girl were the only ones who sat during the Pledge due to the words “under god”. We never were questioned or bothered by other students but of course it was a class of advanced placement kids so I would expect as much.
Alex,
We’re tracking!!! AKA: We’re on the same wavelength, or, you’re reading my cue c@rds.
As my grandmother used to say: Great minds think alike
John McCain declares he is mentally incompetent
http://tinyurl.com/2tqo79
and can’t read.
Most of the xtians who’ve tried to tell me America is a xtian nation have used the National Motto “in god we trust” and the pledge as examples. Amazing how little of them know that was changed during the second red scare. I think we should lobby not only for the pledge but to get the motto changed back to “e pluribus unum”
-He fell right off the edge!
-Of course he did, christians don’t believe in gravity.
alex,
I missed Bill-o on Friday. I got tired of his nonsensical jabbering about being a great “culture warrior” that he claims to be. But yes, his goofy War on Xmas is certainly on the horizon. That still makes no sense to me because atheists don’t celebrate it and yet its the “secular progressives” who commercialized it according to him. Does he not realize it was corrupt xtians trying to make money who made it the way it is now?
When I was in school, my atheist friends would omit “under god” and nobody said anything. But then again it was just a couple of us. Really the only people who had problems with excluding “under god” were the teachers. Maybe because they grew up in the cold war generation that created this nonsense.
I had the same experience in high school. I refused to say the words “under god” and nobody cared. Then I refused to say the whole pledge and nobody cared either. They just wouldn’t let me rebel. But, I did grow up in a large metropolitan city and not some backwater. I’m totally jealous of these kids.
Wait a minute – isn’t patriotism, at it’s heart a diversive, tribalist ideology for no good reason? Sound familiar?
Danger,
I know there is a very thin line between patriotism and nationalism.
One glues countries together while the other rips them apart.
Ren
Which is which?
What,
You’re funny!
IMO, a HEALTHY dose of patriotism is good for a country. Notice the emphasis on the word HEALTHY. It is the glue that keeps a country together. Patriotism and pride are almost interchangeable in this instance.
Nationalism, on the other hand, is what causes neighbor to rise up against neighbor in the middle of the night, because THEY are not one of US. Nationalism and Fear are almost interchangeable in THIS instance.
A good example (for me) of rampant nationalism, was the breaking up of the Balkans. Neighbor murdered neighbor out of fear and loathing that was stoked by Slobodan Milosovich, and others.
Dangerman, you are correct. We should lobby to get the motto changed back to the original as well as the removal of the “under god” crap tacked onto the pledge.
Ren,
Ok, point taken. Pretty crazy that we are all divided up into inhabitants of arbitrary areas though isn’t it?
Nations themselves really derive from rasism and tribalism, both nessecary. Maybe one day we can look past the (also arbitrary) skin colour and facial characteristics that divide us.
Not for a few centuries yet one would think.
What is really needed for a united humanity is an alien invasion….sad isn’t it.
Ren,
IMO nationalism does not lead to the breakup of nations…quite the opposite. It is only if the other nations fight back that it may do so.
Balkans is a bit of a tricky one…this is more religious war that a national one.
Danger,
I have been referring to myself as a citizen of planet earth first, and and American second, for some time now.
I am a member of SETI, and I donate my CPU time to their cause, but I wouldn’t be too quick to welcome an alien life form to our little corner of the universe. Any species that has the smarts to travel across vast distances and arrive on our shores, would be infinitly more intelligent than ourselves. Just think about what happened to every single indiginous population, when confronted by a ’superior’ race. And we are all humans!
I don’t think Aliens would come here on holiday. They would come here for resources / slaves.
Ren,
I like your priorities.
RE alien invasion, yes very true, but look at the length of their supply lines!
Danger,
You’re right. They would probably become stuck in a quagmire, with their citizenry demanding a pullout of Earth, but their Alien Congress being too much of pussies for being afraid of being called ‘Anti-Stormtrooper’.
I can see the headlines in the paper’s back on Zorat 3, now.
TERRORIST EARTHLINGS DETONATE THERMONUCLEAR DEVICE
Followed by a story of how no alien was injured because it was ONLY a fusion bomb.
FSM help us!
Ren,
Now wait a minute, these beings are capable of interstellar travel and they want resources from Earth and, bi-pedal, fragile slaves that are prone to god-idea delusions? I don’t believe it.
rna2dna,
In fact, we may seem as insignificant to aliens (extraterrestrials – supposing they exist) as the thousands+ bacteria, etc. that we wash off of our skin daily.