On June 26th a federal court in San Francisco ruled the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance made it unconstitutional. They found that when teachers at a state funded school led students in reciting the famous pledge, the words "under God" violated the rights of any students who may 1) be atheist with no set belief in God or 2) adhere to a non-monotheistic religion that does not necessarily have a central "God" figure. The majority decision of the court was based on the long established, but often ignored, idea of separation of state. It was a victory for advocates of this principle, a minority in the American landscape. For the vast majority of Americans, you might as well have woken up Jesus and smacked him around some.

The condemnation came quickly. Media outlets reported the story in sensationalist headlines and the angry village mob soon formed---complete with pitchforks and torches. Cries of "political correctness gone haywire" and a secret plot of "Satanist atheists" (never mind that the very term is a contradiction) abounded. Right-wing radio and television commentators (who for some bizarre reason call themselves "journalists" and "newsmen" when in reality they're editorialists) howled their anger and blamed this all on the scourge of America---liberals. Congressmen in both parties angrily denounced the court's decision, telling schools affected by the ruling to stand up for God and actually break the law---later meeting on the Capitol steps to recite the pledge of allegiance. Even George Dubya took time out from his Axis of Evil coloring book, learning big words for the upcoming G-8 summit and hoping WorldCom woes take the heat off any White House Enron connections, to weigh in on the ruling---calling it "preposterous". (That Dick Cheney is one heck of a ventriloquist eh?)

God's advocates (He or She supposedly needs cheerleaders to guarantee His or Her existence---go figure) were ready to call down their thunder deity to smite the non-believers. I hear Charleton Heston is so furious he plans to don his old Moses robes, go down to the San Francisco court and hurl NRA made explosive tablets of the 10 Commandments at the judges. One woman on television so angered by the ruling said, "God is part of America's heritage and those who don't like it can just leave!" Damn. Folks should stop beating around the bush and tell us how they REALLY feel!

It is amazing that one little case, attempting to do nothing more than uphold a long established American principle, could cause such fervor. True enough the United States founding fathers, when not harassing the slave women folk, had their beliefs in God. However unknown to most Americans it seems, those religious ideologies were often varied. A good number of them for instance were Deist: an Enlightenment derived spiritual philosophy that would make the Bible Belt cringe. In reality however, it doesn't matter what religion the founding fathers were. What they did recognize from the outset was that their new country needed to guarantee religious freedom in the greatest way possible. After all, they had seen some of the worst divisive religious wars ever fought by Christians---against other Christians.

In Belgium and Holland fighting Catholic troops loyal to Phillip II of 16th century Spain waged a war against the Protestants. In France there was terrible warfare and persecution by the Catholics upon the Calvanist Huguenots. In central Europe, a war lasting some thirty years dragged on between the Catholic League and the Protestant Union. The death toll from this latter war has been estimated by some to be as high as 14 million! The Christian on Christian religious war is STILL going on in Ireland.

No good bastard of slave holders many of the founding fathers may have been, but none of them wanted a repetition of that Christian sectarian violence in their newly stolen nation. Thomas Jefferson (when not pulling a R. Kelley---or his clone---on the local adolescent slave girl) was one of the first to voice this idea. He stated, "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibit the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state".

Of course not all thought this way. Patrick Henry, one time slave holder turned minor abolitionist, certainly saw the need to interject God into American life. His move to create government support for religious minister schoolteachers was rejected, helping firmly establish the separation of church and state as a Constitutional canon. But of course, America has always had a hard time adhering to its lofty philosophies.

Separation of church and state is probably one of the most important principles of American culture, but it is regularly abused with reckless abandon. In court, Bibles are still used for people to place their hands upon in order to tell the truth. I suppose if one doesn't take the Bible seriously, one can lie with impunity. The Supreme Court itself, upholder of the Constitution, regularly says a prayer before beginning the day. The President of the United States is even sworn in on a Bible. It's not a wonder then, when these public abuses by the branches of government are so blatant, that the everyday person ignores separation of church and state so often. It is only through the vigilance of a few that abuses have come to light. And the pledge of allegiance is a case in point.

The pledge of allegiance as it originally stood did not include the words "under God". Congress added the words in 1954, during a particularly religious episode in the US---the eve of beating blacks senseless for asking for their rights. As the 9th district court said, the 1954 insertion of "under God" was made "to recognize a Supreme Being" and advance religion at a time "when the government was publicly inveighing against atheistic communism".

In fact, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the act adding the phrase "Under God", he would state, “From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our Nation and our people to the Almighty”. If that's not a blatant violation of church and state and a ringing endorsement of monotheism and its indoctrination, I don't know what is. As the court stated, "To recite the Pledge is not to describe the United States; instead it is to swear allegiance to the values for which the flag stands: unity, indivisibility, liberty, justice and -- since 1954 -- monotheism".

About the same goes for the "In God We Trust" upon the dollar bill. Those words weren't added until the midst of the Civil War, as a religious fervor swept the North in the hopes that God would help them preserve their Union. And so it has gone, back and forth, for some time. When America decides to follow its principles, the separation of church and state is enforced. When America does not do so, those principles are overlooked.

For near fifty years the abuse of the pledge of allegiance has gone uncontested. But the 9th district court, citing a concurring opinion in a Supreme Court decision, the 9th Circuit said, "The Pledge, as currently codified, is an impermissible government endorsement of religion because it sends a message to unbelievers 'that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community, and an accompanying message to adherents that they are insiders, favored members of the political community' ".

Basically put, to have a teacher lead students each day to utter the words "under God" is a simple and flagrant violation of church and state. There's no way around it. If these were students simply saying it on their own or in private groups, there would be no problem. Separation of church and state cannot affect that. But what we have here amounts to state sponsored religion. It's about as unconstitutional as George Dubya's ill- conceived government funded religious charities.

Some say its tradition and American heritage to say "under God". But as pointed out already, this tradition of "under God" isn't older than 1954. So it ain't that traditional. The Baptist minister who wrote the pledge of allegiance in the 1800s saw no need to add references to God in his pledge, so no one is abusing his memory. Some say America was founded on the principles of God. Well, not really. But if you want to say so, America was also founded on slavery and the right to hang debtors. Bring those traditions back and a whole lot of Negroes with bad credit is sh*t outta luck! Like it or not, America was not meant to be a Christian nation (what many clamoring over religion and school really want to see) nor was it to necessarily be a Godly one. There is no clause that says, "and ye shall accept Jesus as your personal savior" to become a holder of public office. There is no clause that says, "and ye should believe in God" to become a holder of public office. That's the way America was set up. It's intended to be a canvas that anyone can paint upon. In its ideal, it belongs to no set one religion, race, group, etc.

I know it's hard for advocates of religion (particularly the American Christian masses) to see beyond their own beliefs (that pesky first commandment). But the fact of the matter is, if YOU believe in a God that's great. But the same freedom that stops some other religious sect from telling you HOW to believe in your God also protects others. These people may not have a singular God to say allegiance to. Or perhaps, they have no type of religious authority figure at all. It is their right to do so. It is certainly their right to complain about paying taxes to have teachers indoctrinate their children with religious beliefs and simultaneously violate a Constitutional principle.

The American masses should be thankful for this ruling. They should be happy there is a separation of church and state. Imagine if there was not. If God is made a part of the state, where does it stop? When do people start asking, "well which God are you talking about?" The religious wars of old Europe were not unknown in America. About 150 years ago Christian on Christian violence erupted in what is now known as the Philadelphia Bible Riots, leaving scores dead. The separation of church of state was nearly broken, as the local government casually looked the other way in favor of one religious grouping. It was only when things got out of hand that it was realized the government had to step in as a neutral party. In a theocracy there is no need for a separation of church and state. But in a country with diverse religious ideas (especially, if history is any indication, feuding Christian sects) it is not only a good idea, but wholly necessary. It is the only way to assure that the rights of even the smallest minority are respected.

So is that going to happen here? Not hardly. Though a symbolic victory, the court ruling against the pledge of allegiance will probably be overturned. And why? Is it because the ruling is wrong and unjust? No. Rather, it's unpopular. America's laws, like that of any land, are partially based on the atmosphere of the masses. Following the Civil War, the white masses weren't interested in upholding the amendments that gave blacks the right to vote and other freedoms. It would take near a century for mainstream society and the courts to catch up to what was written on the books. The same can be said about the separation of church and state. It's a good idea on paper and in philosophy, but I doubt it will last or be picked up by other courts in regards to the pledge of allegiance. And with the members of the American legislature (yep the lawmakers themselves) even telling schools to break the law, its not going to have much staying power. It is simply deemed too politically correct: another of way of saying it's too much like right.

When it comes to the separation of church and state, as with many other matters, America is big on ideals and poor in execution. As the fervor grows among the right wing tone the nation has taken on this issue, all I can do is look the heavens and plead---"please God, save us from your followers".

MORPHEUS- Exposin Fake Shyt