Posted on 03/26/2004 8:28:01 AM PST by Schatze
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Marie Alena Castle, a Minneapolis atheist, contends that the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is a hate crime.
Not one to stand idly by in the face of perceived injustice, the 77-year-old former Catholic has written a long brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of California atheist Michael Newdow, who urged the justices Wednesday to drop "under God" from the pledge.
Castle's brief is one of more than 50 that have been submitted in the case, which tests the constitutional prohibition on the official establishment of religion.
But Castle's is the only one that sets forth the thesis that Congress put "under God" into the pledge out of hostility toward atheists.
Supporters of the current pledge -- backed by the Bush administration -- argue that it merely reflects the role that religion has played in the nation's history and that it is more of a civic ritual than a religious one.
A retired business and technical writer with no background in law, Castle rests her argument on congressional records dating to 1954, at the height of the Cold War, when Congress inserted "under God" into the pledge.
She cites a speech by Congressman Louis Rabaut, the Michigan Democrat who sponsored the addition of the two-word phrase. He said: "You may argue from dawn to dusk about differing political, economic and social systems, but the fundamental issue which is the unbridgeable gap between America and Communist Russia is a belief in Almighty God . . ."
Given the level of hostility at the time, Castle said, "it is not an overstatement to call it a hate crime."
Castle's is the only atheist brief from Minnesota, the headquarters of a 300-member national group that she calls Atheists for Human Rights. She said the history of the pledge underscores how atheists have often been villified and attacked as "an unpopular group."
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
I posted the following in response to an opus yesterday:
This country was founded within the context of believeing in a God. The Declaration makes it perfectly clear: "...endowed by our Creator...". The reference to "Under God" in the Pledge is only an aknowledgement of that principle. The First Amendment protects you from being forced by the Fedril Gubmint to worship that Christian God . Only that and nothing more. If you don't like it go elsewhere, or buy an island and start your own country.
A word or two (or a few) about "Rights": In the other thread, you stated that "Rights" come from the Fedril Gubmint. Our founding fathers did not believe this, obviously, as in: "...Endowed by our Creator....Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Other "Rights" may be conferred by Gubmints, but the Big Three come from God.
And do please note that the "Right to Life" is numero uno. Nothing there about anyone's right to end another's life because it's inconvenient.
As far as conferred "Rights" go, here's a handy litmus test: you have a "Right" if no one else has to be compelled to act for you to exercise that "Right". For example, you have a "right" to free speech (rather you formerly had that right. See the CFR legislation), because no one has to be compelled to do anything for you to exercise your "right" to free speech. However, you do NOT have a "Right" to be heard, because in order for you to exercise a "Right" to be heard, someone would have to be compelled to listen, perhaps against their will.
The next time someone claims a "Right" to healthcare or an education, slap them upside the head with that definition.
| The key to understanding your posts can be found in the first two words of the above sentence; subjectivity rules your private world, not objectivity. To say that the Framers feared a religious power is to reveal a vast ignorance of both American history and English history. |
What do you do about the coins?
| Stop and think about the sheer idiocy of the position: An atheist, who claims not to believe in any god, spends time and money trying to remove a phrase that refers to a God who isn't there. It sounds like a characteristic "out-damned-spot" guilty paranoia. |
Lol! So, don't say "under God" when you say the pledge, and you can pretend it's not there either.
There! Problem solved. Next thread please.....
Yes, I've said that I sense paranoia in most atheists. Perhaps it's because of some nagging doubts or fears about their beliefs. Just a thought.
Atheism is not the default that you're born with. Atheism is a belief, and it hasn't been proven that babies are born with either a belief in the existence of God or a belief in the non-existence of God.
You admit to defacing currency which is a crime.
Not a very conservative position, disregard for inconvenient laws, is it? But I've never met an atheist who thought the law should be obeyed if he disagreed with it.
So tell me, how is your disregard for inconvenient laws any different than wanting atheists imprisoned? Personal preference is the basis for both.
Works for me, but that idea doesn't appeal to the "true believers" (there's an oxymoron for you). What I've never understood about atheists is their categorical assertion that there's no God. No one living on this planet can know that until after death.
To: judgeandjury Atheism is a belief Please state the nature of this "belief". 113 posted on 03/26/2004 2:25:39 PM CST by Dimensio
Surely an atheist is not ignorant of his own belief system? Anyone without a belief system believes nothing. Are you telling us you believe nothing? I can be convinced.
Atheism is a belief system because it believes something that cannot be proved. It cannot even be a theory since even a theory is supposed to be based on observation. Therefore it is nothing more than a personal preference, a whim, a convenient device for justification of behaviors; an excuse. It is, as William F. Buckley often mused, the only world view that has defined itself by what it is not, and finds it impossible to do so without mentioning God.
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