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<div><span class="gmail_quote">On 9/15/06, <b class="gmail_sendername">Donovan Arnold</b> <<a href="mailto:donovanjarnold2005@yahoo.com">donovanjarnold2005@yahoo.com</a>> wrote:</span></div>
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<div>Ted,<br><br>There is nothing unconstitutional about the state promoting religion. The state can promote religion all it wants. </div></blockquote>
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<div>The State can promote religion all it wants?</div>
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<div>So apparently Donovan thinks it is OK for the government to bring prayers back into the public schools for recitations led by teachers? What about Buddhist chants? If this issue is so trivial and unimportant, why not? The fact of the matter is, if this was even attempted, those who disagree with promoting Buddhism in the classroom would be up in arms. So the issue is not trivial, in the minds of most people in the USA. That's why the US Senate voted 99-0 with one Senator not voting, for a grandstanding political moment, to demonstrate their opposition to removing the words "under God" from the pledge. This vote had no legal impact on the court ruling in this case, and I can assure you that many of these senators off the record would admit there are real constitutional issues involved in the pledge's "under God" phrase. They were worried about political damage if they were associated with thinking that the "under God" phrase was unconstitutional.
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<div>Donovan writes:<br> </div>
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<div>Atheism is not a religion. It might be a spiritual belief, but it is not a religion. <br><br><br>You are right it is offensive to Atheist. But you know what, it is also offensive to non-atheists to take it out. So you going to offend, 95% of the population, or 5% of the population?
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<div>You conveniently ignore other religious faiths. Why do you ignore the deeply religious who believe in Buddha, A Goddess, or Allah? Should not the pledge include mention of their beliefs? Or do you not support including the beliefs of minorities in a pledge worded by the government by an act of law, meant to include all? After all, if they are only 5% of the population, they don't deserve to have their religious beliefs included in a pledge mandated by law to be worded a specific way to represent all in the USA in every public school? Is this your position? Is it "liberty and justice for all" to have the pledge worded to mention one religious orientation the nation is "under," and leave out firmly held differing religious perspectives, even if in a minority?
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<div>Why can't the pledge read "one nation, including all faiths, indivisible with liberty and justice for all."</div>
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<div>This would include all religions, and would not offend the few "atheists" out there, who really are a minority of those who wish to have a strict separation of church and state. Most of those who wish to protect a firm separation of church and state believe in God or some other religious orientation:
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<div><a href="http://www.au.org/site/PageServer?pagename=aboutau">http://www.au.org/site/PageServer?pagename=aboutau</a></div>
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<div><a href="http://www.au.org/site/PageServer?pagename=issues_publicschools">http://www.au.org/site/PageServer?pagename=issues_publicschools</a></div>
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<div>As a non-sectarian, non-partisan organization, AU's membership includes Christians, Jews, Buddhists, people with no religious affiliation and others. Democrats, Republicans and independents have joined our ranks.</div>
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<div>Sorry, but I disagree with wording the pledge to exclude others of profound religious faith who follow a different spiritual ideology. I guess I suffer from the idealistic notion that all religions and viewpoints should be included in "one nation (fill in with appropriate phrase), indivisible with liberty and justice for all"
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<div>Ted Moffett</div>