Supreme Court to Hear Newdow Pledge of Allegiance Suit Next Week
By: Larry Atkins
Growing up Jewish, I always felt like an outsider as a religious minority. As a grade school student, I couldn't understand why we were forced to sing Christmas carols during school assemblies. I wondered why couldn't we sing Hanukkah songs or spin the dreidel as well.
Thus, despite my belief in God, I empathize with Michael Newdow, the atheist parent of a grade school child who brought a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance due to the phrase "under God."
Next week, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional because of the words "under God" inserted by Congress in 1954. Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied requests from the Bush administration and a California school district to reconsider the district court's determination that the pledge was unconstitutional.
As one would expect, there was a public outcry by elected officials in response to the district court's original decision. Also, as one would expect, no elected official had the courage to express empathy towards religious minorities who are uncomfortable when religion is brought into school. No one chose to cite language in the First Amendment to the Constitution stating that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."
Even though I am Jewish, I chose to attend La Salle University, a Catholic University in Philadelphia. Even though there were crucifixes in every classroom, that didn't bother me too much. I was a part of handful of Jewish students who lived on campus-I was also OK with that.
La Salle was a good academic school, I made a lot of friends, and I was involved in many school activities, including being on the tennis team and the school newspaper.
What bothered me was that in my sophomore year, there was one class in which the students stood up when the teacher entered the room and they said a Christian prayer and blessed and crossed themselves. I felt very uncomfortable about this the whole semester, but I liked the school and chose not to transfer to another school. I stood up out of respect, but did not say the prayer. That incident convinced me that religion should be kept out of the classroom in public schools. It was my choice to attend a Catholic college, but at least I had the choice of transferring colleges, if I chose to. Many public school students don't have that choice.
It's insufficient to say that public school students are not compelled to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance and that they can choose not to recite it along with the rest of the class.
The third grade daughter of Michael Newdow, the plaintiff in the California lawsuit, has to go to public school and if she chose to abstain from saying the pledge, she would be ostracized as an outsider by her fellow students. Not all atheists or agnostics can afford to send their kids to private school.
People are OK with introducing elements of religion into schools, such as saying prayers at commencement ceremonies, just as long as it involves a God that they believe in.
It is disingenuous to argue that the words "under God" have nothing to do with religion.
Congress inserted the words "under God" during the Cold War in response to
a campaign by the Knights of Columbus and religious leaders, who wanted to distinguish the
United States from godless communism. When he signed the law, President Eisenhower indicated
that millions of schoolchildren would daily proclaim the dedication of this country to the
Almighty.
I have no problem reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Most people in this country have no problem reciting it. But we shouldn't be shocked or offended that there are people who are offended by it and for valid reasons. There's nothing unpatriotic to choose to pledge allegiance to First Amendment constitutional principles.
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Larry Atkins, a lawyer and writer who lives in Philadelphia, teaches editorial writing at Temple University. He has written over 175 Op-Eds, articles, and essays for many publications, including the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Dallas Morning News, Detroit News, Indianapolis Star, National Public Radio (Commentaries for the national versions of Morning Edition and Only a Game), Newsday, Philadelphia Inquirer, and San Francisco Chronicle. His e-mail address is larryLTatkins@aol.com This is a revised version of his Op-Ed that first appeared earlier in the Chicago Tribune and Cleveland Plain Dealer. This article is copyrighted by Larry Atkins. Permission is granted to forward this or to place it on a website as long as the article is included intact, including this statement. Published in OpEdNews.com
