VERY well said. I could not have said it better myself. Thank you!

Catmando,
I DO agree with you on this VERY point! This is why I am agnostic leaning toward atheist. HOWEVER, I ALSO agree with Pantera1 when he said the following with regard to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence;"Its based very much around religion and the belief in god." The morals that these people, our Founding Fathers, brought to this great nation CAN be adheared to and NEED to be followed MUCH MORE closely to get people straightened out. We have begun a terrible slide into what I think is a black hole that will only get worse. I have no problem with the pledge as is. Just because I do not believe in a God does not undermine the beliefs of my fore-fathers and basis on which this GREAT, the BEST nation in the world was founded.

Cat,

Why not just use your 1st amendment right and just not say it?

One of the most significant and indeed moving opinions that the United States Supreme Court has ever written comes from 1943, in the middle of World War II, when the Supreme Court ruled that any child could refuse to say the pledge of allegiance in school. It came out a case involving the Jehovah's Witnesses, who had a religious objection, and they could not be penalized for not saying the pledge of allegiance.

Our money says In God we trust, Every single day that the United States Supreme Court is in session the marshal begins by saying, "God save this honorable court." God is not a forbidden word in the American government.

You don't believe, then just don't say it. I had people in my grade school class that would acknowledge the call to the colors. No big thing.

supercrash.......????
["Kids don't know squat about jesus , but they know EVERTHING about Santa...These are gang tactics"]

hmmmmm......so read below in your best mafia voice:
"my kid don't believe in (insert expletive) santa clause....can you baleed dat? I'm going to have Tony wax his 7 year old (insert expletive) ass"

:D

SC, some of the stuff you type....

back to a whispering voice....
Hey yo Tony, Junyahs been in dah cookie jah again....take cahr a dat. And don't screw it up this time.... and tell Guito to bring lil sis here, we seem ta have a misunderstandin about da frequency of da Bahney videos....

I quess if its not backed by gold we got no choice but to trust in god cause the gold is gone. lol Mitch

I DON'T THINK SO!!!
 

:mad: You guy's can argue over words till Hell freezes over, but it comes down to ONE MAN trying to dictate to the ENTIRE country what rights we have. :mad: ONE MAN has a problem with HIS daughter saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and is doing his best to keep the rest of us from having the right to decide for ourselves and our children. Think about it that way and see if you still agree with it!
If you don't like it, don't say it. And if that isn't enough, move your child to a school that supports your lifestyle. And also think about the consequences if this passes... As unlikely as that is... :mad:

Catmando...
 

Cat,
Under British rule, the Monarch was the one giving the people their rights. The Monarch could also take those rights away. Our Founding fathers believed that our rights came from God. Those rights then could not be taken away. Our country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, which explains why 95% of our population believes in God. If you choose not to believe, that's fine. This fine country allows you to do that without persecution. Just don't expect the remaining 95% to change the beliefs they share with our Founding fathers that have made this the greatest nation ever to exsist in the history of the world. I am offended by the teaching of the evolution theory being taught as fact without the creationism side of the argument even being considered, but my children were taught that evolution is a THEORY. I did not force my religion down their throat either. Interestingly enough, my daughter was raised by me in a Christian environment and has not chosen that path. My son has been raised by his mother and an atheist stepdad and has chosen Christianity. If the public schools are offensive to the small minority, go to a private school or get over it. That's what alot of Christians have to do.

my $120 Canadian

I could be wrong here but I had thought most atheists believed only in self ... basicly thinking of themselves as Gods... so they are now not happy pleging alegance to their country and themselves:rolleyes:

this whole issue is very disheartening to me. i'm a young dude with a good deal of time to live yet. its scary to me whats happening in this country. you can't wipe your ass anymore without the fear of being sued. you can't speak freely anymore because GOD forbid you might offend someone. GET OFF IT
i don't push my views on people and i don't want their views pushed on me. thats what this all comes down to. one man trying to push his way of life on everyone else. if you don't believe in god
don't say the pledge. sit down and wait for everyone else to finish
its retarded how for almost 50 years this is not a problem and all of the sudden it bothers some a$$ hole. this IS NOT an issue of seperation of church and state. that policy was created to keep from forcing certain beliefs on people. "one nation under god"...
is not forcing a belief on anyone. it is a statement. and thats that.

Russ