America The Beautiful

A long time ago, almost forty years, The Supreme Court of the United States rendered the decision that prayer in the public schools of our country was unconstitutional. My own personal opinion about the decision is based entirely on my own embarrassing and often brutal experiences that I suffered as a child. It was no secret that I was Jewish, but the other children really didn't know what that meant. All they knew was what they heard their parents talk about at home. Because of my experiences, there is no doubt in my mind
that what my schoolmates heard at home
were disparaging remarks about Jews.

When it came time for the daily prayer in class, I had no idea what to do. Should I bow my head? Clasp my hands? Cross myself? Speak the same words that everyone else did? I stood out like a sore thumb, remaining still and mute. I was afraid to do anything in case whatever I did would be the wrong thing and against my own faith. So, I did nothing. I knew that my parents had a right to ask that I be excused from class during the prayer, but that would have been worse for me. Even so, I often paid the price in the schoolyard
during recess or after school on the way home. I lost track of
the number of bruises and black eyes I took home with me
for my dear mother to soothe and to wipe away my tears.

There were no children in my classes who were of faiths other than Christian. But, I knew in my heart that children who were Jewish or of other non-Christian religions in schools all over the country
had to experience the same feelings, hurts and trepidations that I did. And, for that reason, I wholeheartedly agreed then, as now,
with the decision of the Supreme Court.

But, something different has been decided upon
very recently in a Federal Court.

It is absurd that the finding of the word "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance has been ruled unconstitutional. It is a word, not an invocation of a prayer. The word has a different meaning to people
of different religions. Each person's "God" or "Goddess" is represented by something different with a different understanding. My G-D is the same as the Christians, even though I do not write His name the same way, as I have here. I do that because my deep and abiding faith and my total awe for His power prohibits me
to dare to write His complete name.

For an agnostic or atheist, the word has no meaning. That should not be the ruling factor as to whether we ARE a nation under G-D. We are a democracy, and the vast majority of our people believe in a God, whether it be the same as yours or mine. One's lack of a belief in a God or believing that there is no God to believe in, should not mean that the majority of the people should remain mute about a reference to their God when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Should "God" be removed from our coins? It is totally ludicrous for that decision to stand, and The Supreme Court must strike it down.

If it does not, then America The Beautiful will lose its underpinnings, with our people losing faith in the Courts just as so many have lost faith in Congress. Our democracy is at risk of faltering, more than it already has. There is no question that since September 11, 2001, there has been a rise of patriotism in our country. But, patriotism alone will not keep the fabric of our heritage and society alive. Only with acknowledgment that we are a people of faith will we continue to have faith in everything that is good about our beautiful country. Removing the reference that we exist
under G-D will destroy our faith in ourselves. And, we must have the strength of faith to continue to strive to improve the lot of our people
and to keep our country secure -- as America The Beautiful.

For anyone interested in reading parts or all of the 1963 US Supreme Court decision on school prayer, the link below will take you to a Web site called FindLaw.com. Although the site is for legal professionals,
the lay person is welcome there.

I found the reading of the decision very enlightening, especially the references the individual justices made to American history related to the fundamental reasons for the pilgramages to the New World and the subsequent problems that existed here. As we all should know,
once in the New World, the settlers treated people
of minority religions no better than they were treated themselves by the Church of England. Prayer in school
is not a 21st Century issue. It was always an issue.

The 1963 decision can be read here FindLaw.com
A related decision of 1962
can be read here FindLaw.com