Sign the White House Petition to remove "Under God" from the Pledge.If you're a fellow blogger, put this link on your site too! (http://wh.gov/g0T)
The number of signers already blasted past the original goal of 5,000. Can we get 100,000? 500,000? A million atheists standing up for their rights? It could happen! But it depends on you.
You'll have to spend about thirty seconds typing your name and email to create an account on whitehouse.gov, then wait a few seconds for the usual confirmation email. Once you confirm, you can sign the petition to add your name to the list of patriotic Americans who can't pledge their full allegiance to their country.
Will this actually make it happen? Probably not. Will it make a difference? Yes!
Battles like this aren't won overnight. No single campaign can change the direction of the country. This won't be won in a single engagement. It will take a long series of petitions, publicity campaigns, testimonials by celebrity atheists, courtroom skirmishes, and much more before we can get "under God" out of the Pledge.
But we can do it, and this petition is one of those events that will add to the momentum. But only if you sign it.
Did you know that "under God" wasn't in the original Pledge? The "under God" phrase was added almost sixty years ago after a campaign launched by a right-wing Catholic group during the time of McCarthyism and rampant racism. It was un-American to add "under God" to the pledge, and now it's time to right that wrong.
UPDATE (11:00 AM Friday): Here's a note my Mom left on my Facebook page about this blog:
"When I was in school there was no 'under God' in the pledge because we all knew that 'freedom of religion' was part of our country's heritage. I could not believe it when I grew up and suddenly was expected to insert 'under God' whenever required to say the pledge. I have solved the problem by remaining silent when I am expected to say 'under God' during the Pledge of Allegiance. It is high time that this phrase be removed and that we get back to the original words that truly reflect what and why this nation formed. Freedom! Freedom to think as we please and not as our government requires."So become an activist! Sign the petition! Why are you still reading this? CLICK HERE! Do it!
(P.S. To the Orange County Backyard Skeptics and host Bruce Gleason: thanks for a wonderful evening last night! It was a real pleasure talking to such an interesting group. You were a great audience, and your questions were fantastic.)
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The pledge of allegiance is creepy enough without already swearing fealty to God. Signed.
ReplyDeleteThe great irony is that one of my capcha phrases on the White House site was "archangel".
Signed and shared with all my friends and atheist groups on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone for sharing this link and signing the petition!
ReplyDeleteyou all are a bunch of uneducated frigs that don't know anything. i refuse to sign this or any other petition that agrees with you. this country was founded on the principles of God and without him none of you would exist today. May GOD bless you and your families! have a great day.
ReplyDeletedear cowardly anonymous. If you got your history from any source BUT Fux news, you would know that the founders were Deists and fought very hard to keep religion OUT of government. The lack of education complaint is applicable only to you. Read your history and stop relying on Rupert Murdoch to tell you anything that is true.
DeleteNo one says you have to say those two small words. Just because it offends a small percentage of you doesn't mean you have to take it out. There are atheists and Jehova's witnesses at my school and have never once complained. GET OVER YOURSELVES!
ReplyDeleteI really wish they would take the "under God" phrase out of the pledge of allegiance. Anonymous is the uneducated one here. Our country was not founded on "God" or any other specifically named deity. America was not founded as a "Christian" nation. The amount of ignorance that abounds in this country is absolutely phenomenal!
ReplyDeleteSadly, it's not just ignorance. It's the result of a deliberate campaign by conservatives to distort history, and many well-meaning people have fallen for it. Say it often enough and loudly enough, and people start to believe it. Which is why we have to start telling the truth, loudly and often.
ReplyDelete