Everything in Its Own Time

In America we have the First Amendment, the one that gives us our Freedom of Speech. While many people believe this is a great freedom to have and don’t get me wrong because it is, this freedom comes with many headaches and arguments. This comes to mind after the recent not guilty verdict handed down by a Florida jury in the case of Casey Anthony who was on trial for allegedly murdering her daughter. While I have to admit I really haven’t followed the case close because from the start I knew it would be a remake of the famous three ring circus trial of OJ Simpson in 1995. I was right, sadly. While the Casey trial had a lot of circumstantial evidence I am pretty sure most people believe she is guilty and will agree the prosecution did a terrible job. As the news broke of the not guilty verdict I seen many comments and heard many people say that she will pay in hell and God will make her pay. While I hope this is all true and God will make her pay it got me thinking about how God is such a difficult topic in America. We are always hearing how people are upset that their child was made to say The Pledge of Allegiance in schools and it offended them because of the words “under God” are in the pledge. What about our currency? Does it not say, “In God We Trust”? Does this offend them? If so maybe that should not use U.S. currency. Now, don’t get me wrong here. I am not a Bible beater here to preach to you. I am an American that knows and realizes that America was founded under the belief of God but we also wanted our citizens to have the right to freedom of religion. We wanted our citizens to have the right to choose their church, their choice of religion, and give them the choice of not having a God or a religion. Yes, I know those phrases have not always been used in the pledge or on money. However, they have been added over time and now it is an issue in the United States. Why is it an issue? Its an argument many times a day by people and its tying up our judicial system and costing our government money. Now when I was younger I did go to church and was semi active in the church, this is no longer true. While I still believe in God and I have read the Bible a few times, and I consider myself a christian I no longer go to church and I am not a big believer in the church. In fact, I look at the church as the largest organized crime family in the world. But this isn’t about the church; it’s about God in America.

Now I understand that many people may not believe in God or they may pray to a different God, but isn’t America for the people by the people? Well if so then I believe those people that believe in God or the christians are the majority. In fact, it is estimated that 83% of America is christian. Now I understand we should respect others beliefs but why do our beliefs have to suffer? This of course isn’t the first time the majority in America has made sacrifices to make the minorities happy. There are bigger issues facing America but yet this one keeps popping up. So, I’m going to have my say on the issue and give you a brief history lesson along the way.

The original Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by a Baptist minister named Francis Bellamy. He viewed this pledge as an ‘inoculation’ that would protect immigrants and the native-born but insufficiently patriotic Americans from the ‘virus’ of radicalism and subversion. Bellamy’s pledge was published in the September 8th issue of The Youth’s Companion, a popular children’s magazine. The Youth’s Companion published the pledge as part of the National Public-School Celebration of Columbus Day. The celebration was being held in honor of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas. The original pledge went as follows;
I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Along the way a few changes were made to the pledge but it wasn’t until June 22, 1942 that the United States Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance as the official national pledge. This version of the Pledge went as follows;
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
In 1954 President Eisenhower, who was raised as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses but converted to Presbyterian in 1953, signed into law a Joint Resolution of Congress amending §7 of the Flag Code enacted in 1942. This new law added the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. Since 1954 our National Pledge has remained unchanged.

That is enough of the history lesson but there is more to the Pledge of Allegiance than what I have included here. Now I understand that not everyone want to say those two words. However, most of America does, remember about 83% of Americans are christians. So, if you don’t want to say those two words then here are some options for I recommend for you;
A. Say the pledge and just don’t say those two words.
B. Stand there in silence and be respectful while we pledge our allegiance.
C. Get the hell out of America if you are too ignorant to do options A or B.

Now, I was raised a Methodist. I had very little understanding or knowledge of the Catholic religion. Let me tell you my first experience with the Catholic religion was at a funeral. I was lost, confused and didn’t have any idea of what to do or when to do it. They would stand, kneel, sit, and speak as one to the priest. Instead of being rude and ignorant towards their religion and cause a fuss about not knowing what to do I just sat there quietly to myself. Nobody looked at me strange, nobody made fun of me, nobody questioned me. I was respectful to them and they were respectful to me and in the end nobody was upset. After the services had ended I even joked with a few of my Catholic friends about my confusion and they even found it amusing and told me that I did the right thing. The problem starts when people start forcing their beliefs on me then you can be damn sure I will get upset and share my opinion. Surprisingly, many people don’t agree with my opinion but through my writings I have found that many people do. Again, I have nothing agaist those that have different beliefs than me, just don’t force your beliefs on the majority that has a different belief than you. As stated before, I understand that America is about freedom, many freedoms but when did the majority become the minority? Our government and many of the people in America have become so worried about making others happy that the majority of people are getting stepped on.

I understand that there are Americans that do not believe in God or may even pray to a different God and that is your choice. I also understand that there are some conservatives that are trying to force christianity one everyone in America. I agree this is also wrong and once again the First Admendment protects us from this. Those that want to force their religious beliefs on anyone should be beaten with their Bible or whatever book they use in their religion. Everyone needs to realize that we have a freedom of religion in America but at the same time everyone needs to understand that christianity is what a majority of the people in America believe in. If an when the time comes that the majority of Americans are not christian then we should look at changing things until then lets leave it well enough alone. There are options there for those that do not wish to say the words “under God”. I will not fault you as long as your are respectful to those around you that wish to say it the way it is written. Everyone won’t be happy but we can compromise. Can’t we?

Now for those of you that follow me on Facebook I have taken advantage of the polls they have. I figured for the first time using the poll option on Facebook I would ask the following question; “Should the United States removes the words Under God from the Pledge of Allegiance? The following is a list of answers that were available to choose from; Hell No, No, Yes, and I Don’t Care. Now while I did receive an email brining to my attention that I am possibly leading people by having the two no answers. Well, maybe he is right. However, no matter how you look at it no is no whether it is Hell No or just plain no. As of the time of writing this article here is where the poll stands:
Hell No: 205 votes
No: 30 votes
Yes: 25 votes
I Don’t Care: 13 votes

While I understand Facebook is not a scientific poll, I am not a scientific person. However, I believe it still gets the point across. A few people even went as far as leaving comments and that is what I was truely hoping for. Now many of those that left comments were in favor of keeping those words and a few were against keeping them and a few didn’t care. There were also a few good points raised on all three sides, however my answer is, Hell No!

It is my belief that this country, our country was founded under God and the christian belief. I understand that many of the people that read my writings are from the South and are also Pro-Confederate. As am I and I wish the South would have won. I still wait for the day the South rises up and takes on the corrupt government in Washington D.C. I also believe that if states were to secede today, there would be more than the original 11 states. Until that day comes we are the United States of America. Both sides were very christian and still are today. While I love the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania my issue is with our government. However, its all comes back to the majority of Americans. There are compromises we can make on this issue. There are bigger issues facing America, there are more important issues facing America. We have a President in office that we need to get out, we have a deficit that we have to bring down, we are still fighting terrorism around the world working to make our homeland safer. Meanwhile, unemployment rates are still high, there are Americans starving and homeless and our education system is simply pathetic. How about we compromise on the Pledge of Allegiance. Until the other major issues facing America go away or when the majority of Americans are no longer christian we just leave it alone. You don’t have to say those two words or you can choose not to say the pledge at all just respect those of us that do. Also, for you Bible beaters that are annoying everyone and are trying to force christianity and God one everyone, you just need to STOP! Your preaching is doing anyone any good. America is the land of the free, this means we are free to choose our religion, so let us choose. We have a good thing with the Pledge of Allegiance, don’t ruin it for those of us that don’t want it changed. Again, its the majority, the majority of christians are not bible beaters preaching to the world. We are simple people that believe in God and we practice our christianity the way we feel best. Not the way the extremist do.

So, if the extreme Bible beaters shut up and stop forcing their beliefs on everyone and the non-christians can just understand that the majority of America is christian and they have options available everyone can be happy. In other words, can’t we all just get along and leave the damn thing alone?