Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Should the Words "Under God" be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance?

I disagree. It is not for the Court to decide whether or not to take God out of our Pledge of Allegiance. For one thing, if they rule that is a violation to those children in public school right's and take "Under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance, then they will be violating the rights of Christians all over America. To us, our nation is Under God, and always will be. It doesn't violate the Separation of Church and State, simply because it isn't commanding that every citizen of America worship God as their Father. The Pledge of Allegiance is a way to show that Americans stand together, through the good and the bad. It states that we are indivisible as a people. Mr. Docherty once said,"there was something missing in the pledge, and that which was missing was the characteristic and definitive factor in the American way of life." He was referring to the words that were later added on June 14, 1954. Eisenhower said
"These words [“under God”] will remind Americans that despite our great physical strength we must remain humble. They will help us to keep constantly in our minds and hearts the spiritual and moral principles which alone give dignity to man, and upon which our way of life is founded."
I think that is true. This was how our nation was founded, this was the religion the United States was founded on. Anyone can live in the United States but just as we respect their religion, they should respect the religion that the U.S. was founded on. If these words were ommited, then it would no longer be a pledge to our nation. It would be a phrase of empty words that had no meaning, and no usefulness. Students should not be required to say the Pledge of Allegiance with out the words Under God in them because you would be taking away the only reason to state such a pledge. If those words are removed, then the pledge is rendered meaningless and there is no point to say it anyway. In answer to a question I was asked, I believe that my grandparents would agree with me. There is no sense in removing the phrase "under God" and in their day even suggesting that would have been tantamount to treason. Frankly, I believe it still should be.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

what it means to be a republican...

I give props to the man that wrote this story.... it is unbelievably true! I had to copy it and let my readers see this!

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat and was for distribution of all wealth. She felt deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, which she expressed openly. One day, she was challenging her father on his beliefs and his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. Based on the lectures that she had participated in and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that for years her father had obviously harbored an evil, even selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth, and she indicated so to her father. He stopped her and asked her point blank how she was doing in school. She answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain. That she studied all the time, never had time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn’t even have time for a boyfriend and didn’t really have many college friends because of spending all her time studying. That she was taking a more difficult curriculum.

Her father listened and then asked, “How is your good friend Mary doing?”

She replied, “Mary is barely getting by.” She continued, “She barely has a 2.0 GPA,” adding “and all she takes are easy classes, and she never studies. But Mary is so very popular on campus. College for her is a blast. She goes to all the parties all the time and very often doesn’t even show up for classes because she’s too hung over.”

Her father then asked his daughter, “Why don’t you go to the Dean’s office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your 4.0 GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0?” He continued, “That way, you will both have a 3.0 GPA, and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.”

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father’s suggestion angrily fired back, “That wouldn’t be fair! I worked really hard for mine. I did without and Mary has done little or nothing. She played while I worked real hard!”

The father slowly smiled, winked and said, “Welcome to the Republican Party.”