|
Pledge of Allegiance
On June 26, 2002, a Federal Appeals court ruled that the statement "Under God" was unconstitutional as part of the Pledge of Allegiance. The suit was brought to court by an atheist man as a reaction to his second grade childīs class and their recitations of it in school. Not to debate the rightness or wrongness of the decision, it may have a significant impact on holidays.
First, letīs talk about the Pledgeīs origin! It was first published in the childrenīs magazine Youthīs Companion on September 8, 1892. At that time, it read "I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Most of the worldīs powers at that time were republics so part of the message was to unify the republics under a single oath. In 1924, the words "the flag of the United States of America" were added making the pledge unique to the United States. Nevertheless, it wasnīt until 1942 that the U.S. Government officially recognized it and essentially "nationalized" it. Starting in 1953, President Eisenhower then pressed congress to modify to include the reference of Diety upon which Congress passed a resolution a year later adding the controverial phrase "under God." It has been unchanged since 1954 and currently reads:
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
If the Supreme Court upholds this decision, we may see religiously oriented holidays changed too. Of most significance would be Christmas. Christmas, a Christian celebration, is a Federal holiday endorsed and recognized by the government with office shutdowns, vacations, and office parties. Some offices give time off for Easter, Good Friday, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kipper and other religious holidays too. Needless to say, our society would be deeply impacted if we ignored our religious heritages by eliminating faith-based holidays. I wonder what the atheistīs second grade daughter would say if she didnīt receive any Christmas gifts, Easter bunnies, or halloween candy, all traditions with roots in religion. |
