A day after thousands of schoolchildren began reciting the revised Texas pledge honoring “one state under God,” an atheist couple asked a federal judge in Dallas that the language be immediately removed.
Legislators inserted the language into the pledge earlier this year to mirror the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance.
U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade denied the request late Tuesday by David Wallace Croft and his wife, Shannon, for a preliminary injunction to stop the use of the pledge before any trial. No trial date has been set. An unidentified John and Jane Doe are also parties to the case.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear for decades that patriotic tributes to God are allowed under the Constitution,” state solicitor general Ted Cruz argued in court.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
The Texas pledge revised by legislators this year now reads:
“Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.”
Hmmm… I have a lot of family and friends in Texas who would object to the “one and indivisible” phrase. They alway tell me under the terms of annexation, Texas has the right to split into four (to six) states.
#1, Indeed! And, what of the county system?
The lawsuit is predictable and stupid. But, isn’t the pledge itself pretty pointless?
Oh, isn’t this rich! Wait until the hottest part of the summer when EVERYONE knows that God has left Texas to introduce this petition!
Actually, this year in Texas, the temperature has been wonderful! Right now (6:00 pm) the temp is below 80! If this is “global warming,” then bring it on! 🙂
Normally, in late August, the temp regularly reaches over 100. this year, we’ve only had 4-5 days over 100!
BTW, the “pledge” issue is silly – both on the “put it in” and “take it out” sides. There are better ways to promote Christianity or Deism or whatever than by putting “God” in a pledge that few people say. There are better ways to fight for freedom of religion than to pick on a pledge that few people say.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Am I the only one who is uncomfortable with pledges in general? Whether schools, states or nations… maybe I’m just odd. It seems like manufactured loyalty and it smacks of associating God’s will with a political entity.
Ahh well…
Jody+ wrote:
[blockquote]maybe I’m just odd.[/blockquote]
Who am I to disagree.
Like the commercial used to say:
Texas: It’s like a Whole Other Country!
I will gladly say the same Pledge of Allegiance that Washington and Jefferson said. You know, the one that goes…uh…um…yeah. Frankly, I grew leery of pledges in High School history after viewing a film on the Nuremberg Rallies. And I am not comfortable pledging any allegiance to an inanimate object. Nor do I truly believe the country to be, for all time, “indivisible”. Finally, after the ordeal of Terry Schiavo, I am not longer certain about the “liberty and justice” part, either.
That said, do I love my country? You bet!
I remember when this was added recently. I felt then (and still feel) that those who voted to add it should personally foot the bill for defending it from legal challenges. This is not a “traditional” pledge “under God” was added to earn some cheap political points at the expense of all the time and money a slew of cases will cost.
Daily pledges are kind of silly anyway. It becomes rote, without any thought, which is the last thing any pledge should be.
#8, Southcoast,
I agree whole heartedly…
Why don’t we do away with ordination vows too for all to the reasons stated above? Actually as the state becomes more secular I do begin to feel that no Christian should have to pledge loyalty to it.
11.
Well the reasons I see stated wouldn’t have anything to do with ordination vows. God certainly is not an “inanimate object.” Also Ordination vows are taken after a great deal of preperation, decision, and thought, the exact opposite of a pledge repeated day in day out without any thought as just the first thing you do in school.
Now I said the pledge everyday and it didn’t hurt me, it was though something I never thought about. It wasn’t until I heard it in a different context years later that it had real meaning for me. I think we do it a disservice by treating it as something to do quickly in the morning.
Jody+ –
[blockquote]Am I the only one who is uncomfortable with pledges in general?[/blockquote]
No, I’m with you on that. I do love my country (though it’s a bit of a bipolar affair sometimes), but the only sovereignty I feel comfortable pledging my allegiance to is the Kingdom of God. All others have to earn my allegiance…
It does remind me of my daughter’s preschool, though, which was at a local Southern Baptist church. They began with pledging allegiance to the (generic) “Christian flag” and also had a pledge of allegiance to the Bible. It was hokey, but I have to say the practice had its priorities in order, at least.