EDITORIAL – Calif. upholds separation of church and state

By uprooting an inappropriate phrase in the pledge of allegiance, a federal court in… By uprooting an inappropriate phrase in the pledge of allegiance, a federal court in California recently ruled that we should firmly uphold our statute in the constitution that separates church and state.

Michael Newdow, an atheist with a law degree, filed suit against the state of California for making his 5-year-old daughter and students in her class say the pledge. He argued that the phrase “under God” was in direct violation of the establishment clause, which specifically mandates the separation of church and state.

Newdow challenged the statute in 2002; officials deemed it a moot point. Today, even after death threats and public scrutiny, Newdow has persisted and it has finally paid off. Separation of church and state is closer to being upheld by the Supreme Court than it has ever been before.

The words “under God,” which were added to the pledge in 1954, were signed into law in the face of America’s fear of the spread of communism. Since then, there has been much controversy over the implications of this phrase.

It was only a matter of time until the ridiculousness of the Red Scare passed. People would soon come to their senses and actively enforce the section in the Constitution that prohibited any form of religion to be imposed upon an individual in a secular space.

The fact that this has constantly been questioned since it was etched into law 50 years ago further establishes its inappropriateness. Hopefully the Supreme Court will be wise enough to finally reverse a phrase that was offensive at its commencement and is even more offensive today.

Consider the demographics of the United States – the melting pot we call America. This country is the foreground for so many races, religions and beliefs. Because we are becoming more diverse every day, that is reason in itself to not infringe on one’s religion by mandating a phrase that simply doesn’t hold true for everyone.

With that, it’s undeniable that a rich history is also what has made this country so great. When it comes to historical documents, such as the Ten Commandments, the Supreme Court’s recent decision has given a fair ruling that focuses on the intention and not the religious subject matter. Thus, rulings on this issue are not denying people of their religion but giving them the freedom to express it in the way they see fit.

The pledge of allegiance is recited tens-of-millions of times a day, and it is a tradition that is difficult for a lot of Americans to see broken. While that is an explanation for opposition, it is not an excuse. We need to be more accepting of people’s beliefs and not just tolerant. Acceptance is respecting your neighbor’s religion enough so that you equally have a right to worship. Tolerance is advocating a phrase in a pledge because it’s in alignment with your beliefs despite the fact that it infringes upon others.

What makes our country so great is that we have freedom of speech, and in that thought is the right to not be patriotic without the fear of persecution. Thanks to progressive states such as California, we all have made strides that greatly impact our country.

Now more than ever we must work to have a clean break between church and state. If a country doesn’t uphold its constitution, we then must all be forced to question what the worth is of any law or statute.