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LETTERS.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)
Pledge Peer Pressure
Regarding "Court Throws Out Pledge, By God" (IBD's Top 10, Thursday), it is rather strange to me that the Pledge of Allegiance seems to be solely performed by children who are far too young to understand its meaning. It is, in essence, propaganda, and circumstances point to politics in its invention more than anything else.
The pledge arose as a mere suggestion from the editor of a children's magazine who thought it would be a swell thing for kids to recite. The phrase "under God" was added in 1954 during Sen. Joseph McCarthy's infamous day in the sun; that is the legacy we have with us today.
America's earliest settlers left England because, among other reasons, of religious persecution. Unless you were a member of the Church of England, you were not allowed to vote, teach or hold office. Not surprisingly, our founders saw this as unfair and set upon forming a government that would be kept separate from religion.
There is no reference to any God in the Constitution. Additionally, Thomas Jefferson's letters from Paris clearly and strongly insisted on an amendment to the Constitution that would create, as he put it, a wall of separation between church and state. This would ensure both freedom of religion and freedom from religion.
While I suppose children are not technically being forced to recite the pledge, it is clearly a de facto use of force. The rote, ritual nature of it, combined with the power of the institution, the teacher and peer pressure, make it difficult for a child to do anything but go along with the crowd. I do not see this as something our founders would have wanted for us.
Eric Gatley, via e-mail
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