The U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled Wednesday that Virginia’s requirement that students recite the Pledge of Allegiance everyday in the classroom is constitutional. As reported in The Daily Press, “Virginia Attorney General Judith W. Jagdmann issued a press release Wednesday stating that the 4th Circuit ruled the pledge is not a religious exercise, “but a patriotic one,” and therefore does not violate the establishment clause.
Edward R. Myers, a 46-year-old, Mennonite software engineer from Northern Virginia, had filed the suit, objecting to schools “yoking patriotism and religion” by promoting what he described as a “God and Country civil religion.”
Fourth Circuit Appeals Court Judge Karen Williams wrote: “Undoubtedly, the pledge contains a religious phrase, and it is demeaning to persons of any faith to assert that the words `under God’ contain no religious significance. The inclusion of those two words, however, does not alter the nature of the pledge as a patriotic activity.”
I’m sorry, but I just don’t see how people get so exercised over this. If members of the mainstream culture want to recit the Pledge of Allegiance at school, with “under God” in the prayer, let them. If atheists want to skip over “under God” during the recital, let them. If Hate-America-Firsters want to skip over “with liberty and justice for all,” or sit out the entire recital, let them. Why it’s necessary to file lawsuits, with the consequence that judges issue rulings with “winners” and “losers,” is beyond me. There’s got to be a way where everyone’s point of view can be tolerated.
