Separation issue going too far
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, June 26, 2002
We are all for upholding the Constitution of the United States, particularly when it comes to the separation of church and state.
Apparently the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is also a strong believer in this division. On Wednesday, the court decided and announced that the phrase &uot;under God&uot; in our pledge of allegiance is unconstitutional.
Now that is just taking the matter a bit too far.
True, that apparently &uot;troubling phrase&uot; did not enter the recitation until 1954. But now, 48 years later, it’s unimaginable to say the pledge without &uot;under God.&uot; It’s like singing a song, but omitting a lyric you know. It’s incomplete.
And so also would the pledge be without that phrase.
We can see along with others that this issue could make it to the U.S. Supreme Court. Being the near final arbiters in such constitutional matters, it will be interesting to see the individual judges say and what the court as a whole decides.
When we say &uot;near final&uot; we mean that the Supreme Court can say one thing, but the people of the United States may well continue saying &uot;under God&uot; without missing a beat.