When the California 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rendered their decision, banning an opening ceremony for public school children across our Nation—the recitation of the Pledge

Of Allegiance, on the grounds it violated the Establishment Clause separating church and state because of the “under God” portion Congress added in 1954, national reaction was speedy

and immensely opposed to the 2-1 judge ruling that it is an unconditional endorsement of religion.

     The United States is known to be “world melting pot” of people. They are of all faiths— Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodist, Buddhism, Protestant, Jewish, Eastern Orthodox,

Islam, Christian, Hinduism etc. Many have immigrated through America’s “pearly gates” for one main reason: free to pursue a good life without having to abandon their own cultural

heritages or be subjected to the oppression by the cruel use of governmental authority.

     The vision of our Founding Fathers, as I see it, weren’t thinking about Henry Ford or even space travel, but what I believe they had on their minds, came from the knowledge they gained from firsthand experience: They wanted no part of the continual wars motivated by religious hatred, and had ruined many countries in Europe. In 1789, they took the bull by the horn, and spelled out where the first ten lines begin and stop, and it is abundantly clear, Number One has no loop holes:

     “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

     The framers of our Constitution goal were to build a country, and it took people from all walks of life that could not only develop the plans through educated thought, but also crave out the land with their hands. You don’t have to flip open the history books to get a feel of what the

United States of America is all about. If you have all your senses or maybe just a few, your heart, mind, and soul will pick up the slack to enable you realize “We, the People are endowed by our [their] Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” because our nation is so different from any in the world. We have no designated religion or even race, but we do have one common bond, and that is a shared unification about our government’s ideas of liberty and justice as one country with a strong religious heritage.

     I cannot find a logical reasoning on how anyone can see any remote comparison in the First Amendment wording of our government endorsing a religion by the usage of “under God” in the Pledge as well as “In God We Trust” on our currency. That Wall between church and state is clear to me: no specific faith’s Supreme Being has been given the sole authority to serve as my leader because the first Bill of Right guarantees me the right to speak freely about my spiritual leader, and he is God!

     Although former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle’s had his feathers scattered all over the medias when he questioned President George W. Bush’s war objectives, I got to admit his hammer hit the nail’s head square when he simply summed the Ninth’s ruling up for being

“just nuts!”

     When Madeline Newdow…whoops! Michael Newdow, a physician with a law degree who adheres to an Agnostic belief, started his initial quest in 1998 when he and his daughter resided

in Florida’s Broward County, the courts canned the trial because his four-year-old daughter wasn’t in school. They moved onto California, and he filed his complaint again on not on the grounds his daughter would be forced to the Pledge, but was injured by having to listen and watch. [I find his actions destructive because most countries around the world don’t have that wall of separation between church and state, and the abuses are largely directed at their own citizens who follow minority religions. Look is to the East.]

     Today, I have no doubt in my mind what being an American is all about, yet I am almost certain those “Ninth’s Rulers” must have inhaled. And, if they were the offspring of Author Lillian Carter [1898-1983] her words: “Sometimes when I look at all my children, I say to myself, Lillian, you should have stayed a virgin,” supports my own solid belief of a woman’s right to choose.

     What is next? Will our own National Anthem be abolished? What about the ceremonial opening words in our courts that begin: “God save this honorable court?” How about our President’s recognition of God in his public addresses? Better yet, will Charlie Brown’s First Christmas story be vocally banned from a child’s lips for the right to keep Christ in their Christmas? And, of course in our schools—I cannot find any unconstitutional wrong for taking a few minutes to remind us of our diverse backgrounds—racial, ethnic, and religious.

     Yes it is just not plain nuts, but also, as I see it, an outrageous attempt by a tiny group of radicals who have gotten into our homes, but they fail to comprehend, our Republic’s foundation will be impossible to penetrate—for we will stand united for God.