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ONE NATION ‘UNDER GOD
“One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Some would question that we are indivisible, that the government continues to remove our liberties, and that justice is often administered unfairly. But very few would deny that we are ‘under God.’ Yet, “under God” is being challenged as unconstitutional, because…it is.
It directly contradicts the separation of church and state. Now the question is, how do believers get around the technicalities and justify the presence of “under God” on the pledge, “In God We Trust” on coins, and prayers in the Senate, at football games, and at the President’s table during state dinners.
I support affirmative action. Life isn’t fair and some people need a foot up. But, it is blatantly unconstitutional. It directly contradicts that all men are recognized as, ‘created equal.’ Yet, our legislators and Supreme Court support this deliberately discriminating policy. They even try and play like it is constitutional and muddy the water with oceans of righteous verbage.
Martin Luther King said he dreamed of a day when people are judged, not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. We, as a nation have not achieved his dream yet, but we’re on the right track so I can tolerate a little favoritism for the cause.
I belong to the National Rifle Association because there are advocacy groups who would disarm the average U.S. Citizen. I have never understood how the occasional big city can get laws passed that prevent the ownership or carrying of firearms. Anti-gun laws directly contradict the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution that guarantees citizens the right to keep and bear arms.
I concede that Saturday night specials and machine guns in the hands of gangs and drug smugglers are not good things. I can understand the motives of the anti-gun lobby. I just don’t think taking guns away from the good guys is going to help. But if the majority in a gangland city vote to disarm themselves, I let it go, but I keep paying my NRA dues.
I suspect there are other examples of deliberate breaches of the Constitution that we citizens acknowledge but accept as beneficial to the common good. Our nation is at a crossroads. It is maturing. It is under attack by radical Islamic religious groups who will not be satisfied until Judaeo Christian believers are blown to bits.
On September 11, 2001, in the aftermath and agony of the attack, person after person raised their voices to the sky and cried, “Oh God!” Not, “Oh god!” in small letters, but “Oh, God!” It is that belief in God that keeps many of us strong. It gives Republicans and Democrats a sacred common ground.
We’re going back to church in record numbers. In times of crisis we get back to the basics. We seek solace “under God.”
So, to the atheists, anti-affirmative action activists, Uzi owners, and strict constitutional scholars, there are times when you just need to back off, and I think, this is one of them.
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