Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nelson on March 2, 2011 at 10:20pm

well, the pledge was written in 1892 and the last time it was changed was 1954 to add "under god". presumably this is what you're talking about when you say the pledge was "added in the seventies". 

going on that assumption, my thoughts are that it's plainly against the establishment clause and should be changed to remove it. the pledge as it stands now ties patriotism to a person's religious identity and that's plainly bigoted and offensive. no one would countenance for a second a pledge that said something like "to the republic for which it stands, one nation, as long as you're white, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" but whereas they wouldn't stand for that they happily go along with religious bigotry.

now, do i think it's going to get changed any time soon? nope. not a chance. certainly not with this SCOTUS.

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Permalink Reply by Doubting Thomas on March 16, 2011 at 10:38am

if you even tried to change it like marilyn o hair (google it) the best his is america's most hated woman for deducting the stuff from school. You'll need to be an atheist martyr for that.

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Permalink Reply by Chris G on March 16, 2011 at 7:04pm

You should have heard all the sick jokes that were being told when she and her family disappeared. It was disgusting - especially in light of what happened to them.

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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on March 18, 2011 at 9:43am

Madalyn Murray O'Hair

 

I had no idea who she was before you pointed this out.  Thank you so much - I'm really glad to learn this interesting piece of organized atheist history.

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Permalink Reply by Will H on March 2, 2011 at 10:29pm

yes thank you i meant the fifties and i was speaking of the under god part, i think it would be wise for atheists to protest this openly.  oh by the way im brand new to this site, can you tell me what SCOTUS is?

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Permalink Reply by Nelson on March 2, 2011 at 10:33pm

SCOTUS=Supreme Court of The United States.

i agree it would be great if atheists protested the "under god" portion of the pledge but, without minimizing the offense, there are more pressing things, just one instance being the teaching of creationism in schools.

 

welcome to the community btw. :)

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Permalink Reply by Kairan Nierde on December 5, 2012 at 10:19am

Yeah, priorities.

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Permalink Reply by Will H on March 2, 2011 at 10:42pm

thank you for the warm welcome, and clarification. just for the sake of conversation, i read that the military now has a spirituality test which if you answer as an atheist you do not pass and cannot join. but i dont remember details.

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Permalink Reply by Kris Feenstra on March 2, 2011 at 11:43pm

I don't know how far back the practice extends, but what you might be referring to is a 'spiritual fitness' component on a test that deals with soldiers' ability to cope with warfare.

 

Here is an article on it (NPR).

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Permalink Reply by Will H on March 3, 2011 at 5:18pm

yes you are correct, that is what i was referring to.

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Permalink Reply by Chris G on March 2, 2011 at 11:18pm

Thankfully Jehovah's Witness' had The Pledge of allegiance thrown of the class room, but it kept creeping back. I recall that  Madalyn Murray O'Hair put a final stop to it's recitation at school.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minersville_School_District_v._Gobitis

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Permalink Reply by scLovely on March 3, 2011 at 12:58am

It hasn't been stopped. I did my student teaching last year and the children recited it every single day. It was on the morning announcements (in 2 different schools, 2 different semesters) and the entire school had to stand and say it with the person that recites it over the intercom. There was discipline if the student didn't do this and the teacher wanted to hear each child. She would call out the ones that she couldn't hear or the ones she thought was lip synching.

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