Blog12: How's the Paper?

            Well, I just adapted my focus on the paper (thanks for the advice Rachel!) and I’m now going to work on just “under God” in the pledge of allegiance.

            When I’ve been working on this, my main focus has been to discover what the real, underlying issue is. I mean, I can understand the perspective and the reasons for why people think we shouldn’t, but is there any legitimate reason that can stand in law and political circles why we should have “under God” in the pledge?

            After a few discussions with my roommate I believe I discovered what’s the fundamental issue, at least on the side of supporting the phrase. It’s tradition. America was founded on a belief of an Almighty and our dependence on such an entity. Although “under God” wasn’t added until 1954, it has already become a concrete part of our national identity. By publicly acknowledging such a founding value, we legitimize our Government’s right to authority and power. No leader, whether it be a person, organization or Government can have a weak foundation of ideals and beliefs. The act of removing “under God” from the pledge would be such a bold action against the values of America that it would dramatically decrease the legitimacy and integrity of the American Government.

            There are legitimate arguments against the phrase however. (I’m using the word “legitimate” a lot, but it’s exactly what I mean.) The Supreme Court has created what’s called the “Lemon Test” to determine if a law religious in nature violates the Establishment Clause. It has 3 points, and if the law fails any of the three then it is not constitutional. The first says that the law must be secular in nature, the second: the law cannot advance or inhibit religion in any way, and I forgot the third haha. Anyways, the 1954 legislation that inserted the phrase “under God” in the pledge of allegiance clearly violates the first two points. The insertion was motivated by the Red Scare, and how much of America was trying to prove itself not communist by reverting back to fundamental American values, like God.