Remove God from the Pledge of Allegiance
The original Pledge of Allegiance was meant as an expression of patriotism, not religious faith and made no mention of God. The pledge was written in 1892 by the socialist Francis Bellamy. He wrote it for the popular magazine Youth's Companion on the occasion of the nation's first celebration of Columbus Day. It’s wording omitted reference not only to God but also to the United States. “Under God” should be removed from the pledge for purposes of creating equality in different beliefs and allowing each American their right laid out in the constitution. These are the original words to the Pledge of Allegiance.
"I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
The key word for Bellamy was "indivisible," which recalled the Civil War and the triumph of federal union over states' rights. "Liberty and justice for all," was added with the idea in mind that it was supposed to balance equality and individual freedom. By the 1920s, reciting the pledge had become a ritual in many public schools.
Since the founding, critics of America's spiritual believers have repeatedly wanted to break down the church-state idea. Some clergymen argued that the war's killing was a divine retribution for the founders' refusal to declare the United States a Christian nation, and tried to amend the Constitution to do so. The efforts to bring God into the state reached their peak during the so-called "religious revival" of the 1950s. President Eisenhower came up with the prayer breakfast, Congress created a prayer room in the Capitol. In 1955, with Ike's support, Congress added the words "In God We Trust" on all paper money. In ...
... middle of paper ...
...that what they believe might not be correct, it is what they believe but others do not have to believe that they are right.
All men are created equal and by living in the United States are entitled to exercise of their freedom of choice, religion and exercise of free speech. “Under God” should be removed from the pledge for purposes of creating equality in different beliefs and allowing each American their right laid out in the constitution.
Works Cited
1. http://www.cnn.com
2. http://www.monteryherald.com
3. www.sen.ca.gov
4. http://www2law.cornell.edu
5. Harrison, Maureen. Gilbert, Steve. Landmark Decisions of the United States Supreme Court II. La Jolla, California. Copyright 1992. By Excellent Books.
6. McWhirter, Darien A. The Separation of Church and State. Exploring the Constitution Series. Copyright 1994
Hall, Kermit L, eds. The Oxford guide to United States Supreme Court decisions New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
The idea that humans could possibly have evolved from apes was thought impossible until about 150 years. Charles Darwin, an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his contribution to evolutionary theory, stated “humans evolved from an apelike ancestor” (1). Still after Darwin’s theories, many people still doubted the chances of this being true. Just in the past decade have scientists reached a general agreement about the evolutionary relationships between humans and apes. DNA evidence indicates that chimps and bonobos are more closely related to humans than they are to gorillas! Technically humans are a kind of great ape, and that is why throughout the article Smuts will refer to apes as forest apes.
The Supreme Court case in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow result in a unanimous ruling that the phrase “under God” may remain in the Pledge of Allegiance as narrated in public school classrooms. The court made the decision because the atheist father did not have grounds to sue the school district on behalf of his daughter. While the ruling was made on the Flag Day, it did not meet the clear endorsement of the constitutionality of the pledge as sought by President Bush and leaders of Republican and Democratic Parties in Congress. Notably, the eight judges who participated in the case had voted to turn over a federal appeals court decision in 2003 that would have prohibited the use of the phrase in public schools as an infringement of the constitutional outlaw on state-sponsored religion. A majority of these justices i.e. five made that ruling on procedural grounds in which Michael A. Newdow, the atheist, did not have legal reasons to sue the school district (Lane, 2004).
In the 2008 the United States Census Bureau, Self-Described Religious Identification of Adult Population, The Christian faith proved to be the more dominating religion out of all religions. So it would seem the words “Under God” would be beneficial for the majority, the Pledge of Allegiance allures and supports the loyalty of the majority of citizens. The nonbelievers of religion have had the right to not recite the pledge since 1943 but have been asked to quietly stand while the believers recite the pledge in its entirety. Even though leaving out “Under God” is not a difficult task we can clearly see a division has now developed, opposite of bringing the people together. Another example that shows the pledge allures and supports a loyalty to the majority of citizens, the acceptance and encouragement to keep ...
"Landmark Cases of the U.S. Supreme Court." Background Summary & Questions (•••). N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
In his book Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes tries to accomplish several subject concerns. Firstly, Descartes attempts to accomplish the use of methodological doubt to rid himself of all beliefs that could be false. Then, he arrives at particular beliefs that could not possibly be false. Next, he discovers a criterion of knowledge. Also, he proves that the mind is distinct from the body and also the existence of God.
When talking about evolution, it is not stating that man comes from monkey but rather that man evolves and adapts to his surroundings and environment due to natural selection. In the days of the cavemen, men were hunting while women were caretakers and cooks. Because men were hunters, they became bigger, faster, and stronger in order to have better skills for hunting which was essential for survival. These men passed down these “dominated traits – some flexibility, an instinctive ability to respo...
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
First, I would like to talk about the history of the Pledge of Allegiance. Many people today recite the Pledge of Allegiance but do not know the history that took place behind it. The Pledge of Allegiance was originally written more than a century ago. The original pledge was: I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic, for which it stands, one Nation, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all . The flag serves as a symbol of our country and its proud traditions of freedom and equal opportunity. In the 1920s, the National Flag Conferences replaced the phrase “my Flag” with “the Flag of the United States of America.” In 1954, Communist threats occurred causing Congress to add the words under God to the pledge. Then 12 years later, Congress reviewed the Pledge of Allegiance and added the words “Under God .” While reciting the Pledge of Allegiance it should be recited by standing placing your
Rene Descartes was one of the most influential thinkers in the history of the philosophy. Born in 1596, he lived to become a great mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. In fact, he became one of the central intellectual figures of the sixteen hundreds. He is believed by some to be the father of modern philosophy, although he was hampered by living in a time when other prominent scientists, such as Galileo, were persecuted for their discoveries and beliefs. Although this probably had an impact on his desire to publish controversial material, he went on to devise works such as the Meditations on First Philosophy and the Principles of Philosophy Aside from these accomplishments, his most important and lasting mathematical work was the invention of analytic geometry. It seems that the underlying point of Descartes’s philosophy is to specify exactly what it is that we are sure we know.
When the Constitution was submitted to the American public, many people complained the document had slighted God, for it contained "no recognition of his mercies to us ...or even of his existence." Religion was left out of the Constitution for two reasons: first, many delegates were committed federalists, who believed that the power to legislate on religion, if it existed at all, lay within the domain of the state, not the national, governments; second, the delegates believed that it would be a deliberate mistake to introduce such a politically controversial issue as religion into the Constitution. The only "religious clause" in the document--the proscription of religious tests as qualifications for federal office in Article Six--was intended to defuse controversy by disarming potential critics who might claim religious discrimination in eligibility for public office.
Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in a relationship that is used by one partner to achieve and maintain power and also to gain control over another partner. It can be emotional physical or even sexual. Domestic violence can happen anywhere and to anyone but certain factors increase the risk, these include the mother’s age, poverty, unemployment, and alcohol and drug abuse . A study done in Canada found that women who lived with heavy drinkers were five times more likely to be assaulted by their partners than those who lived with non-drinkers. “Rodgers, K. ‘Wife assault: the findings of a national survey” Children who live in a home where domestic violence takes place will face many challenges that could last through out their whole lives. Studies have shown that a third of all children who see their mothers being hurt develop emotional problems and boys who see their fathers beating their mothers are ten times more likely to be abusers in their future relationships. “Clarkprosecutor.org domestic violence in families” Children also living in these home are more likely to experience aggression and antiso...
Take a close look at an ape. Doesn’t it resemble something you see in an everyday life? Focus on their mental states, facial features, and body structures. Most of these features are similar to us- humans. Considering the vast amount of similarities we share, many believe that humans have evolved from apes. Yes, there may be a significant amount of differences to prove it wrong, however it has been scientifically proven humans did evolve from great apes.
“ Refer to Figure 2”, the skull from furthest right has a relativity small brain capacity and sloped face. However as years of evolution occur it is seen that the skulls progressively get bigger, and brain capacity increases. Besides similarities in anatomy, our close biological bond with many of the primate species is indicated by DNA evidence. It confirms that our closest biological relatives were chimpanzees, whom share many DNA traits. DNA also shows species and chimpanzees had split from a common ancestor species that lived around 8 million years ago. Our last common ancestral monkeys and apes appeared to live 25 million years
Animals are similar to humans in many ways, but we frequently mistreat them. There are scientists who believe that apes are close to us by their DNA. In the article, “Of Primates and Personhood: