To the Editor:
It is not necessary for the Pledge of Allegiance to enforce an "ideological standard based on the Christian conception of 'one nation under God.'"
When Francis Bellamy wrote the Pledge in 1892, he did not include any references to God. It was later, during the Cold War in 1954, that the United States Congress changed the Pledge after a lobbying campaign by the Knights of Columbus. Bellamy did not live to see his patriotic pledge changed to an unconstitutional public prayer, but I think that he would have disapproved.
The 1950s also saw the national motto changed from "E Pluribus Unum" to "In God We Trust," and "So help me God" was added to oaths of office for federal justices and judges.
Separation of church and state is part of the foundation of our republic and it is wrong to undermine it with state sanctioned references to religion like the revised Pledge. Americans practice many religions (and some choose none at all) and these monotheistic religious references are incompatible with the beliefs of many citizens.
It would be nice to see the original Pledge of Allegiance restored so that it could unify people and not divide them:
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands -- one nation indivisible -- with liberty and justice for all."
