“Under God” was added to the Pledge of
Allegiance in 1954 by an act of Congress as the result of a campaign by
the Knights of Columbus. The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic
organization, and Catholics are taught that Protestants and other
pseudo-Christians, not to mention heathens and infidels of other sorts,
are going to suffer eternity in Hell. So, if you are not Catholic, they
believe that you can repeat the Pledge
of Allegiance, including the “under God” part, until you are blue in the
face, but you will still fry for eternity on the brimstone barbeque.
I bring this up because some people link a specific deity and theology to the founding of the United States of America as if there is a certain belief system that is necessary to be a “true” American. This could not be further from the truth. Religious disagreement was rife among the Founding Fathers. In conclusion, I refuse to recite the “under God” part of the Pledge of Allegiance because it is a recent invention, and inherently “Catholic”, and I am no longer a Catholic.
My current religious belief system is nobody’s business, and subject to change without notice, and wonderfully uncertain, and not-too-judgmental, and burps whenever someone implies that it is necessary to believe something without proof, or in order to achieve some level of goodness.
I am a prod American. I have to prod when people want me to make my messy mind into something to be approved of. I prod toward uncertainty because I believe that it is extremely arrogant for any human being to claim to know God’s will. It is as if that person, so convinced, is acting as God Him(or Her)Self.
If my doubt makes me unlovable, so be it. I will gladly be unloved rather than become some plastic manifestation of your will.
I bring this up because some people link a specific deity and theology to the founding of the United States of America as if there is a certain belief system that is necessary to be a “true” American. This could not be further from the truth. Religious disagreement was rife among the Founding Fathers. In conclusion, I refuse to recite the “under God” part of the Pledge of Allegiance because it is a recent invention, and inherently “Catholic”, and I am no longer a Catholic.
My current religious belief system is nobody’s business, and subject to change without notice, and wonderfully uncertain, and not-too-judgmental, and burps whenever someone implies that it is necessary to believe something without proof, or in order to achieve some level of goodness.
I am a prod American. I have to prod when people want me to make my messy mind into something to be approved of. I prod toward uncertainty because I believe that it is extremely arrogant for any human being to claim to know God’s will. It is as if that person, so convinced, is acting as God Him(or Her)Self.
If my doubt makes me unlovable, so be it. I will gladly be unloved rather than become some plastic manifestation of your will.
