The Pledge Issue

I am not going to spend much of any time spewing forth niceties and/or unpleasantries on the pledge of allegiance story. Leave that to the rabid conservatives and Christian Right to do.

Nevertheless, if you know me, you probably assume that I agree with the ruling to purge "God" from the pledge. And you're right. The reason why was (sorta) put forth by Michael Newdow, the California atheist who brought the case before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an exchange on CNN's Talkback Live:

Mike from Atlanta: We are talking about the greatest flag to the greatest nation in the world, I can't believe that Americans will allow something like this to go by without voicing their opinion. This is ludicrous to me. I just can't believe that the courts would give him the time of day.

Newdow: I agree, it is the greatest nation and what has made it great is our Constitution. The framers were quite wise in recognizing what religion can do and how it can cause hatred and how it can cause death. You don't have to go far in this world, outside of our nation, to see where that has happened. It is prevalent over the entire globe and the reason we don't have it here is because we have an establishment clause...If Mike there from Alabama wouldn't mind saying "we are one nation under Buddha" every day, or "one nation under David Koresh" or "one nation" under some religious icon that he doesn't believe in...if he doesn't understand the difference then we have a problem.

Or, to put it another way, why should "god" get the only plug?

Also check out how the attacks on the pledge ruling bolster its logic and David Corn's article on "Pledging Allegiance To Fundamentalism," where he writes that "The response to the court's decision exposed the fundamentalism that weaves through American public life, where many, a la Chung, confuse the worship of God with patriotism."

Anyway, this isn't something I think is worth getting into a fuss about. I expect the ruling to get overturned and the reign of monotheism will again march forward, as usual.