PLEDGE
Allegiance isn’t unconstitutional
COMMENTARY

Bells ring at the beginning of a new school day. Teachers instruct students to turn toward Old Glory, place their right hand on their heart and recite the same words that many generations before them have said.

Unless of course the U.S. Supreme Court says doing so is unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court decided Tuesday to hear the case of a California atheist whose 9-year-old daughter recites the pledge at her school. If the justices find the pledge unconstitutional, it will stop children from saying the pledge in California and other western states.

The question about whether the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional has been raised specifically because of its mention of our nation “under God.”

Many Americans believe in a firm division between church and state and that public schools should be void of the existence of a higher being.

So far, they’re succeeding. Opponents to religion in school have had the theories of creationism, prayer in school and sporting events and the Bible successfully eradicated from most education systems.

Now they are targeting the pledge because it uses two words that are more about the traditions of this nation than any set religion. The pledge should remain in schools because it’s optional to recite it and because its purpose has never been to impose a belief in God.

The Bill of Rights was established to protect freedom of religion. That means people who believe in God have the same right to talk about him as people who do not.

If those people are so set on getting rid of God, they need to start emptying their pockets. Anyone who is completely against the use of God’s name must be opposed to using money that says “In God We Trust.”