Re: grace at dinner unappetizing

Korbin Dallas <korbindallas@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

> I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that does this.
> I have a friend that has become very involved in Religion, he makes his
> living from a Christian Ministry. He seems to accept my "religion is a
> personal matter" line. I also say the Old version of the pledge.

It's interesting to know that your friend has this point of view.

My own feeling about the pledge and about the "under God" string is
that the controversy about "under God" has distracted everyone from
the real issue. Of course people should not be asked to say "under God",
as this violates the establishment clause, but I submit that the pledge
would still be, and always was, unconstitutional even without the "under
God" in it. Very simply, the government does not have the right, under
our constitution, to compel specific political speech, so the very idea
of a compulsory pledge for everyone to take is unconstitutional on its face.
Even if one agrees with the sentiments of the pledge, one has the right to
one's own formulation of that sentiment. It is not a legitimate function
of government to tell people how to express themselves.

One might claim that the pledge is not really compulsory. However, when I
was in high school and studied the constitution of the state of New York,
I learned that it included certain curbs on civil liberties, one of which
denied citizens the right not to salute the flag. That may have changed, but
it shows that the issue of compulsory political speech is very real.
--
Ignorantly,
Allan Adler <ara@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL. My actions and
* comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere near Boston.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: grace at dinner unappetizing
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