Walking in the Valley A weekly column for those who live and walk in Silicon Valley by Barbara Dahlgren

One Nation Under God Column for the week of June 30-July 6, 2002

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Sam Adams, Tom Paine, and John Hancock would probably roll over in their graves if they could hear the news that a court ruled the phrase, "one nation under God" in the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional. These signers of The Declaration of Independence wrote of the "laws of Nature's God" and drafted the words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

If Michael Newdow, the Sacramento man who brought the lawsuit, has his way this will be just the first of many steps to eradicate God from any aspect of our government. He doesn't want "in God we trust" on our money or any mention of God on public buildings. He's an atheist and proud of it. He finds these references to God "offensive." How odd that such a ruling would occur the week before our country is getting ready to celebrate the Fourth of July (Independence Day), our patriotic holiday commemorating the formal adoption of that Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia.

Whether people like it or not God has been at the core of the forming and development of this country from the Mayflower to the recent 9/11 tragedy. Why can't we just come out and declare Christianity as this country's official religion? Other nations have an official religion. That doesn't mean we aren't tolerant of people whose religion differs from ours. We should be tolerant. But those other religions are not what this particular country was founded on.

When George Washington took the first official oath of office as president of the United States, he said the following, "I, George Washington, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and I will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." Then in a trembling voice, President Washington added the phrase, "So help me God." He knew where his help would come from.

The problem seems to stem from interpretation of the first amendment of the Bill of Rights. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Does this really say there is a total separation of church and state? Was that the intent when it was written? Or was it meant to be a protection for religions? Perhaps it was written so that people would not have to flee a country again to find religious freedom like many had to do when they first came to America. The truth is, it was actually meant to be pro-God, not anti-God.

It is doubtful that Newdow will succeed in eradicating God from our present government. Politicians aren't that stupid. They are elected by popular vote. However, judicial rulings are froth with contradictions. For example, we can't have a moment of prayer in school but we can say "one nation under God." But to allow this ruling to stand would not only undermine national morale, it would also be an affront to our heritage. Let's face it, when tragedy strikes, the ban on prayer will always be lifted.

It's true that just mentioning God in our Pledge of Allegiance won't make you a better person. But it does plant a seed of thought that perhaps there is something in the universe bigger than man. Perhaps there is purpose to life. Perhaps there is someone we can trust who actually has the power to deliver us in times of trouble. Our forefathers knew this even if we don't. It's remarkable that the older we get as a nation, the more knowledge we have, and the less we understand about God. This nation should fear rejecting God; for fear that He would reject us. (Hosea 4:6) God forbid that we would ever be ashamed to admit that we are indeed, "one nation under God."

©June 2002

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