I think that, rather than changing the words in our pledge of allegiance, those students that don't want to say, "under God," should simply omit those words when pledging their allegiance.

Jehovah's Witnesses haven't been saying the entire Pledge of Allegiance for years...and there hasn't been a problem.(as far as I know)
Have you seen them making a big deal about them having a right to NOT say it?
Have they petitioned the court to have the Pledge eliminated because it goes against their religious beliefs, and that being the case the whole Pledge should be scrapped for everyone else just because of them.
It all comes down to your own personal conscience and if you scrap the God part then who are these ones that are making that decision for you.
That should be you decision alone.
Jim@ccfiile.com

The Pledge of Allegiance is just that, A pledge of Allegiance to the flag. We live in America and if someone does not want to make that pledge then they should not have to, but the pledge is still the pledge as it is and should not have to be change. People say and do things everyday that someone else or some other group will find offensive however no where on our constitution does it say that you have the right not to be offended. Our constitution say we can not discriminant against people. Discriminating against someone is a lot different then offending them.

>>The Pledge of Allegiance was originally composed by Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942. The Pledge has been modified four times since its composition, the words "under God" came in in 1954.

In actuality the Pledge of Allegiance is actually against the Declaration of Independence. The Pledge mentions our nation is "INDIVISIBLE".
<<One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.>>

The part INDIVISIBLE is NOT TRUE.

Notice these cherished words of the Declaration of Independence, its first paragraph:

>>When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.>>

Notice he words "Dissolve" "Separate" "Separation". We are DIVISIBLE when tyranny reigns.

For all you people upset about saying God in the pledge or acknowledging God on anything either written or oral, you can reach in your pockets and give me all your money in either paper or coin that says that "In God We Trust". I live in Framingham look me up in the phone book and you can mail me all your money.

Joe Rizoli

"For all you people upset about saying God in the pledge or acknowledging God on anything either written or oral, you can reach in your pockets and give me all your money in either paper or coin that says that "In God We Trust"."

I luled... this country was founded to escape religious persecution, so things like that don't bother me.

Well I was in the first grade in 1954 and we were gathered together in our two room school on West Street and told that the pledge has some new words. Remember the times- Communist regimes has seized eastern Europe and the most populous nation on the earth -China. Communist forces seemed to be on the march. Italy, France, Finland ect had large Communist parties. The dominant feature of communism to Americans was godless atheism. We were in the middle of the arms race. America needed to contrast itself (correctly in my view) with communism . What better way than by trumpeting the fact that all religions and their practice are welcome here
It took years for the left to admit the existence of the death camps in the Russian Gulag and years to admit that Stalin was a mass murderer and that communism was an inhuman system destined to fail.
I think I am more than a little worried that people are so ' neutral' about the pledge. The fact that kids don't say is is not a function of 'freedom' but rather of laziness and a lack of awareness of how lucky we are to be here in the USA. I guess it's hip to be
disengaged and cynical.

This comment:
>>They dumped the historical flag when I was a reporter. I wonder why the "under God" was added. There must be a reason.>>

Remember what the fifty's was about. COMMUNISM. Joe McCarthy, Spies from Russia,Cold War tensions fueled fears of widespread Communist subversion.
Communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers inside the United States federal government and elsewhere. ATHEIST. That is why I think UNDER GOD was put in the Pledge.

Joe Rizoli

The Pledge of Allegiance is the Pledge of Allegiance. It should not be modified to suit those, that claim to be offended by it. Any student that feels less than comfortable, should simply refrain from reciting it, while remaining politely respectful of those that do. Many nationalities and religions celebrate various holidays. Need we refrain from hearing of those holidays, because some people take offense? So long as nobody is forcing you to adopt the faith or beliefs of others, you ought to allow them their celebrations without causing a stink. If people are going to get that nit picking, then they have the choice of leaving the country and moving somewhere that better reflects their views. Americans are supposed to be tolerant toward the beliefs of others.

well said HyeAghcheg I agree. also remember the famous quote "there are no atheists in foxholes"

Just curious...are these groups that are against "under God" in the pledge also attacking our money which says "In God We Trust"??? I mean the pledge is used "occasionally" but I assure you MONEY is used everyday...I'd think they'd go after this with vigor. I mean...they are PAYING their lobbyists and lawyers with MONEY...right? Or are they hypocrites?

It amazes me that people haven't a clue as to what this country is about! FREEDOM !!!!!! If you wish to state your beliefs your religion your ideals so be it.But, How dare you condemn the philosophies that this country is based on! How dare you say to ban this or that , can't say this or that can't do this or that because it "offends" someone.if you are offended because of the writings and belief of this country then all I can say is get the HELL OUT! No wonder this beloved country is dyeing...
I believe that if you live in this country you live buy the beliefs of it ,you can do have ,should have your beliefs,but again don't try to take away this country's rights!

I agree with you Robert. But the way the wind is blowing, "tolerance" is a one way street. It doesnt pertain to people who believe in God. You have to be tolerant of everyone and every lifestyle EXCEPT christians and conservatives.

The faction that seem to be the darling of the media right now will not be happy until God has been completely removed from society. God means there is a right and a wrong and we dont want to be so "bigoted" that we actually say something or someone is wrong! Unless of course we are talking about God, Christians or conservatives! :)

you dont want to say under god, great move to a country where it isnt in it, maybe iran . and u wonder why this country is going down, because of extremeist like this

No takers on my comment? Why are they not going after the "In God We Trust" on US currency first?

Jim, Thanks. I generally skip the Rizoli posts. :)

Thomas Jefferson (Notes on the State of Virginia, 1785, abbreviated from Jefferson Memorial) said: “Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are of the gift of God?”

Speaking of being "offended" how's this. At our memorial building in Framingham the "immigrants" at times rent out the Nevins Hall. These "immigrants" saw the HUGE American flag up on the stage as wide the stage. These "immigrants" were offended by the American flag being there so they asked that the flag be covered. How's that for being offended.

As to the quote by Jefferson. Why are you quoting a DEIST? Actually, just kidding. I don't believe he was a Deist. His views on God just bucked the "established" view of God by the Pastors, which, as far as I can see, was nonsense. Jefferson was right on the money.

http://creationrevolution.com/2011/07/was-thomas-jefferson-a-deist/

Talk among yourselves.

Joe Rizoli

It's the parents of the children that are getting in an uproar over it...they may be offended (more than likely, they are just strapped for cash, and looking to cash in on being *different*...using their kids as scapegoats). Nothing should be done about it. Tell the kids to omit that part if they wish to, but the parents deserve no cash for something that most of us hold true, and do not enforce as law that those who don't *have* to abide by.

Everyone is lawsuit crazy in this PC society. There is a lot of negatives to being PC. We are all different, that's a beautiful thing. PC tries to make us all the same...create a false sense of EVERYONE being on the same realm of social reality, which is, to put it the nicest I can put it...total BUNK. :) We all have our own things...quorks...compultions...etc. Something that may seem normal to one person, may seem completely taboo to someone else. Does that mean we all need to change and meet eachother's expectations of *normal*...no! What we do need to do, though, is be reasonable about it and...if religious...do what The Bible tells us to do. If atheist...then get over the *mythology* that a lot of us believe in, and let it slide off your back like nothing, especially since, if you're atheist, it doesn't make a bit of difference in the end, anyway. lol

To me, God is above, but if you don't believe that, then just ignore and omit that part personally, and go about your life.

Good point James but with these people, ignoring God is not enough. They have to make sure to completely remove God from our lives. There is a huge difference between mutual respect and personal agendas. The agenda is to remove any mention of God or religion to our children, so they can grow up "normal". We as a society have to be tolerant, respectful and open minded about everything unless its about God. Christians are fair game!

I don’t really feel that strongly one way or the other. I remember feeling sort of like I was in a cult when I was in school. Everyone chanting the same thing day after day – it felt a little like brainwashing to me. I said it when I felt like it, and skipped it when I didn’t. But I can see how it could get under the skin of someone who was non-Catholic but very patriotic.

Removing ‘under God’ wouldn’t bother me at all. It’s supposed to be patriotic, not religious.

Considering that our Commonwealth mandates the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in all K-12 schools (Mass. General Law 71 Section 69), this actually is somewhat of an issue. However, the law does not stipulate which version of the Pledge must be recited. The original version and the first edited version of the Pledge were written by a Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy and had the benefit of being concise, personal, and devoid of superfluous words: "I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The author amended the original pledge by inserting a "to" between the "and" and "the" (and to the Republic) to make the cadence of the pledge flow more easily. As a religious man and Christian, Rev. Bellamy believed in an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent god and sensibly believed that it was redundant to insert the phrase "under God" in his pledge, because, as a faithful believer, what wasn't "under God." The phrase was unnecessary. Also, when uttered by a non-believer, it renders the Pledge, at least in part, false. Similarly, he wanted the speaker to feel the personal affection and fervor for country that he, growing up during the American Civil War, felt toward his nation and that was why he wrote the words "my flag" rather than the impersonal "flag of the United States of America," added later. There is no impediment to using the personal, inclusive original pledge in our schools.