One Nation Indivisible With Liberty and Justice for All

No, it's not in the Constitution. No, it wasn't written by the Founders. No, it wasn't inspired by anything less craven than authoritarian fear.

From Restore the Pledge:

The year was 1954. World War II had ended, but the Cold War was entering into its most intense period. The United States was deeply hostile to communism, and the "Red Scare" pervaded society. Senator Joseph McCarthy spearheaded what is now recognized as one of the most shameful epochs of our history. Citizens afraid to speak. Neighbors constantly eyeing one another. Jobs lost based on hearsay. Persons jailed for espousing unpopular views. The Hollywood blacklist. And, behind it all, the abandonment of the First Amendment.

Within this politically-charged environment, Congress simply ignored the commands of the Constitution and focused on what it perceived as one of the darkest aspects of the communist system: atheism. Casting aside its responsibility to protect all religious views in this country, it honed in on that characteristic of Soviet society. At the urging of the Knights of Columbus, a proselytizing Catholic organization, "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance, with Congress, in its own words, writing:

At this moment of our history the principles underlying our American Government and the American way of life are under attack by a system whose philosophy is at direct odds with our own. Our American Government is founded on the concept of the individuality and the dignity of the human being. Underlying this concept is the belief that the human person is important because he was created by God and endowed by Him with certain inalienable rights which no civil authority may usurp. The inclusion of God in our pledge therefore would further acknowledge the dependence of our people and our Government upon the moral directions of the Creator. At the same time it would serve to deny the atheistic and materialistic concepts of communism with its attendant subservience of the individual.

Signed into law by President Eisenhower, the Pledge of this Nation - with its Bill of Rights assuring its citizens that the government will never engage in the purveyance of religious dogma – now had God incorporated into its fabric. The following year, "In God we Trust" would be required for all United States coins and currency, and the year after that, the same phrase would become our National Motto.

Tomorrow, June 14, is Flag Day. It is the 56th anniversary of the unconstitutional, undemocratic, unamerican addition of "Under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. Mark the day by pledging to protect, as Restore the Pledge proclaims:

• The right of Cristians to worship God and Jesus whenever and wherever they choose
• The right of atheists to deny any god's existence whenever and wherever they choose
• The right of Christians to prevent the government from denying God'ss existence
• The right of atheists to prevent the government from asserting any god exists.