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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

"united," under god


Religion doesn't unite; religion divides.

It's ironic and sad that the word "indivisible," follows the phrase "under God," in our Pledge of Allegiance.

Since god is not explicitly defined, every American constructs a particular version of god that remarkably resembles his or her personal views on life and morality. With this, somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 million Americans are - quote unquote "united" under different definitions of god.

Furthermore, there are others of us - growing rapidly in number as access to information becomes more widespread - who choose to accept as true only that which is demonstrable, especially when the consequences of accepting unsupported claims are substantial.

The erroneous coupling of "under God," and "indivisible," was an addition to The Pledge of Allegiance prompted by fear and paranoia that religion successfully exploited in the 1950s.The original author - a Christian - saw no need to include god, religion, or faith in a pledge for a secular nation.

I am glad to be an American, but I am troubled that many of my fellow citizens still cling to ancient superstition,  making every attempt possible to destroy the secular foundation - the freedom of religion - that is the core of individual liberty and the freedom to choose.