IN FORBES WE RUST
Congress should start each day spending the first half hour re-affirming that the motto of the United States is not E Pluribus Unum (out of many, one) but In God We Trust (we trust in God).
Ridiculous, you say? That is just about what Congress has been up to since 1956, when Cold War hysteria and religious fanaticism induced the 84th Congress to officially change our unofficial motto E Pluribus Unum to (a tough one for this non-theist) In God....you get the picture.
A little history:
E Pluribus Unum dates from 1782, when it was etched on the Seal of the United States by an Act of Congress, but never codified as the official motto even though it is a nearly perfect three word description of the American Experiment.
In God We Trust began appearing on US coinage during the Civil War when opposing sides trusting in the same God were slaughtering 600,000 of their fellow trusters in that same God.
Not satisfied with the 1956 law, Congress voted to reaffirm the motto in 2002. It passed a new law that said the old law should not be changed one bit. “Make no change in Section 302, Title 36, United States Code,” it ordered then, citing the passage that created the motto
Then, in 2006, the Senate, just to be safe, voted again, to reaffirm “the concept embodied in the motto.”
Alas, three times for In God We Trust was not sufficient for GOP Virginia Congressman Randy Forbes, founder and chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, who, besides sheparding (no pun intended) through this fourth Congressional In God We Trust action, has proposed the following bits of legislative wisdom:
To designate the United States as a Judeo-Christian nation.
To declare that "the Holy Bible is God’s Word".
To declare religion a prerequisite for freedom and reject "the notion that the laws and Constitution of the United States require the exclusion of God from matters of government".
To declare that religion forms "the inseparable foundation for America’s representative processes, legal systems, and societal structures".
For a guy who was valedictorian of his 1974 Randolph-Macon College class, one might surmise he would at least have a rudimentary grasp of the separation of church and state.
Maybe the millions of us non-theists should accept continued marginalization of our beliefs pertaining to Uncle Sam's motto. After all, the 26 million who cannot find full time work sure can't trust in Rep. Forbes.
Ridiculous, you say? That is just about what Congress has been up to since 1956, when Cold War hysteria and religious fanaticism induced the 84th Congress to officially change our unofficial motto E Pluribus Unum to (a tough one for this non-theist) In God....you get the picture.
A little history:
E Pluribus Unum dates from 1782, when it was etched on the Seal of the United States by an Act of Congress, but never codified as the official motto even though it is a nearly perfect three word description of the American Experiment.
In God We Trust began appearing on US coinage during the Civil War when opposing sides trusting in the same God were slaughtering 600,000 of their fellow trusters in that same God.
Not satisfied with the 1956 law, Congress voted to reaffirm the motto in 2002. It passed a new law that said the old law should not be changed one bit. “Make no change in Section 302, Title 36, United States Code,” it ordered then, citing the passage that created the motto
Then, in 2006, the Senate, just to be safe, voted again, to reaffirm “the concept embodied in the motto.”
Alas, three times for In God We Trust was not sufficient for GOP Virginia Congressman Randy Forbes, founder and chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, who, besides sheparding (no pun intended) through this fourth Congressional In God We Trust action, has proposed the following bits of legislative wisdom:
To designate the United States as a Judeo-Christian nation.
To declare that "the Holy Bible is God’s Word".
To declare religion a prerequisite for freedom and reject "the notion that the laws and Constitution of the United States require the exclusion of God from matters of government".
To declare that religion forms "the inseparable foundation for America’s representative processes, legal systems, and societal structures".
For a guy who was valedictorian of his 1974 Randolph-Macon College class, one might surmise he would at least have a rudimentary grasp of the separation of church and state.
Maybe the millions of us non-theists should accept continued marginalization of our beliefs pertaining to Uncle Sam's motto. After all, the 26 million who cannot find full time work sure can't trust in Rep. Forbes.
posted by Walt Zlotow at 7:26 AM
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