In a tweet earlier this month, Donald Trump falsely claimed that “The Democrats took the word GOD out of the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democrat National Convention.” Yes, it has been reported that more than one caucus member omitted the words “under god” at the opening of their convention meetings, but, unfortunately, the DNC did include the words during each recitation of the pledge throughout the week.
While the Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892, the divisive words “under God” were not added until 1954. Two years later, in 1956, our country’s inclusive motto of “E pluribus Unum” (Out of Many, One) would be replaced with division—“In God we trust.” These egregious actions took place in history after the Red Scare when McCarthyism was ripe in America. And even though in 1943 the Supreme Court ruled that public schools could not force the pledge on children, as recently as 2019 a sixth grader was arrested for not regurgitating the pledge in a Florida classroom.
The United States is a relatively young nation, but we are at a point in time where it’s time to grow up. If we are to truly be Americans who are united, we need to stop going out of our way to exclude the diversity that makes us unique—and that includes Americans who choose to be free from religion.
MARIE SCHAUB
New Kensington
Note from KBJ: Do you not realize that you're making President Trump's point? You obviously hate religion and religious people. The Democrats have become the party of godlessness. Good luck with that!
