Godless Ranting

The following is copied from a reply I made on a facebook page about removing the phrase "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. A person argued that removing the phrase Under God is unfair to religious people, and if you are atheist you should just not say it. They also asked if we would stop using money because of "in god we trust," and we should forget this and move on to bigger fights such as starving homeless children. I sort of felt bad about the rant at the end but I didn't want to change anything, so I attempted a bit of humor there.

Whhaat? I'm sorry, but it doesn't matter if religious people think taking out "under God" is unfair. Having it in there is unfair to those who don't believe. Plus there is a separation of church and state, and this violates it. The government is not supposed to support or endorse any religion, and Under God very obviously does. Plus, so many people seem to forget that the pledge originally DIDN'T HAVE the phrase in it, it was added in later. What about the atheists of that time? Was that fair to them? I bet many felt ostracized and distanced from everyone else. We need to feel a sense of brotherhood through our being AMERICAN, leaving religion out of it. Any mention of God distances the atheist citizens from that fraternity. How about we return it to it's original and constitutionally compatible form?

As for the money issue, it's not practical or even possible to function in society without using it, but we can protest the "in god we trust" being on it, because it's another blatant support of a religion. On our money, representing America, it professes "In God We Trust," which just isn't true. Some citizens may, but the country and government itself should not.

Starving homeless children may be an important issue, but so is defending and enforcing the framework of our country and what allows us to help anyone at all.*

*All said while someone plays Battle Hymn of the Republic on a kazoo, in front of an American flag. lol

I like to read the comment threads in most atheist blogs to see what other people thing while reading this one a few people said something alone the lines of "If someone would break up with you for becoming an atheist, you shouldn't have been with them in the first place." I am going to disagree with that. Everyone has the rights to their own personal tastes, likes, dislikes, and needs. If your partner is the kind that needs to be with another Christian, they are allowed, and that is fine. They also have the right to break up with you should you change, especially if the change is in something as central to an individual's personality as their belief system. Turn that around on yourself. That if your atheist partner suddenly became super religious? You might still love them, but if they truly followed their bible and worked to convert you, spent their Sundays at church and donated 10% of their salary to the church, became pro life and rejected evolution and thought The Gays had no right to marry (assuming you are like me, you may not be) you might not want to continue to be with that person. And that's ok too. YOU have the right to your personal tastes, and sometimes changes can be too big to compromise on.