Should the Words “under God” be removed from the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance?
The Pledge of Allegiance was first written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy and ever since President Eisenhower and Congress added the phrase “under God” in 1954, controversy has arose in several facets of life. Although the phrase supposedly makes sense, due to its ongoing presence within society, as a large sum of Americans believe in God and the fact that the pledge is recited every day in practically every school facility, the ideal that America is a “melting pot of diversity” has evidently been neglected. The abandonment of the specifications regarding this ideal have led many to wonder— do the words “under God” align with the current and past ideals of society? Many …show more content…
Weisman (acclaimed that public school officials could not invite a clergy to deliver invocations and/or benedictions at a schools' ceremonies, the further implications of the pledge within the school system will be discussed later on), allowed this addition to stay in the pledge? This is probably because current societal ideals warp how traditions are perceived by modern day justices, as they oftentimes believe that they know more than their predecessors. As documented by the University of Chicago, “Justice Thomas, in his opinion in the pledge case, helpfully recognized that under Lee v. Weisman the words ‘under God’ are unconstitutional. His radical solution was to deny the incorporation of the Establishment Clause and to throw out a whole series of precedents” (Nussbaum 4). Not only have we gone so far as to neglect the ideals presented by our Founding Fathers, but we have also denied individuals of their first amendment rights, as the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment entails respecting the establishment of religion for everyone, not just the preferences of the holistic majority. Justice Thomas, like several of his counterparts, believes that his powers are significant in comparison to the law because he is following the desires of the majority within society. This is a common ideology has only increased in …show more content…
The argument that it caters to the majority is skewed seeing as America, which is acclaimed for its accepting nature and its cultural and religious diversity, is not focused on the majority, but the human body as a whole. The fact that the phrase “under God” not only hinders the rights placed upon the population as stated within the Establishment Clause of the first amendment, but is also discriminatory against the minority— different religions, different ethnicities, different cultures, different customs, different traditions— can make one question why the phrase is still in this recited work in our current society. The overhanging ideal of America being a melting pot it hindered, as continuing this harmful ideology that is placed upon our population on a day to day basis can finally make the theoretical concept of true diversity