The higher powers of the American justice system soon will be debating the mention of a higher power in American pledges of loyalty.
The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it will decide whether the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because of the phrase "under God."
This decision has been anticipated for a long time and the only logical choice for the Supreme Court is to get rid of that phrase.
The word "God" has no place in anything political, by mandate from our very own Constitution, which calls for total separation of church and state.
School children in public schools - funded by the public tax dollar - should not be required to recite the phrase "under God." American currency should not bear the phrase "In God We Trust."
These changes should be made in order to stay true to our founding fathers' original plans for this country. "Under God" was never intended to be included in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The original pledge did not include any references to God or religion when it was written in 1892. The phrase "under God" was added in 1954, supposedly because President Eisenhower thought a reference to God in the pledge would calm nerves and promote unity during the beginning of the Cold War.
This was an idealistic, but misguided, gesture on part of the American government. It was a mistake to add the word "God" to the pledge; it had no more place in political statements then than it has now.
If the Pledge of Allegiance is under fire, surely American currency will be next in line for questioning. But again, "God" does not belong on currency any more than it belongs in the pledge. "In God We Trust" is printed on every bill and coin in American currency. Millions of dollars were recently spent on printing new $20 bills to combat counterfeiting.
If the government can update American currency, it wouldn't be hard to change the phrase to something more unifying.
America is based on a diverse collection of people who come from different backgrounds, speak different languages and have different beliefs. Many people came to this country to practice freedom of religion. It is important to remember that our country is known as a unified melting pot, and it should reflect such diversity in the language of our pledges, currency and public school systems.
Some might argue that the wording of the Pledge of Allegiance and the national motto shouldn't be changed simply because they have been that way for so long. But many things have been changed in the course of history to make way for society's progression.
To omit the word "God" from official political language is not asking anyone to deny their own personal beliefs but rather for everyone to be understanding and respectful of one another's differences. The most important words of the Pledge of Allegiance are not "under God" but "for all."
