Don't mind the debate, but I insist it be done with facts. The line, "under God," wasn't added to the Pledge of Allegiance until 1954. Also, "In God we Trust" first appeared on our money around the time of the Civil War after someone wrote a letter to his Congressman suggesting it and asking who could possibly object. There was no national debate. The phrase was on and off money until it became our official national motto in 1956. Remember the McCarthy-era anti-Communist we must prove we're a Christian nation and therefore better than those godless Communists stuff...well, there you go. (Dates from the US Treasury website). Furthermore, while our country may have been founded with God in mind and by those who believed, they still had the foresight to begin the First Amendment to the Constitution with, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Self-explanatory, one would think, although we still have a national motto proclaiming a belief in a particular God (don't believe me- substitute Allah, Yahweh, or any other deity and see how you feel). And every social debate in this country seems to be based not on its appropriateness under the law, but on its acceptability as defined by Christian religion, ie. Homosexual marriage. Kind of annoying.
However, as I do believe our country needs all the positive help it can get from any corner of the universe, I have no problem with saying "God Bless America."
🙂
)
