As a Catholic and student representative on the Board of Education, in Harford County, I would just like to know why General Brady believes the courts have unjustly overstepped their initial bounds, dealing with how the majority should rule, without interference? The Supreme court made a decision, Brown Vs. Board of Education, that was against the will of the majority, but was that not the right decision to have been made? Therefore, should atheists be sacked like blacks in school?

Thank you,

Michael Morey

Bel Air, MD

General;

You are wrong. The Supreme court has repeatedly ruled that the government has no business promoting relgion, any religion, in any way. The courts have stated, in the Lemon case, that the state must niehter promote nor inhibit religion, that the state must remain secular and that the state must not favor one religion ver another. The words "under god" and other things like "in god we trust" on money are unconsitutional endorsenments of not only religion in general, but christianity in particular. As to your position that the governemnt and the laws were based on the ten commandments, you are also wrong. The first five commandments establish a religion. That is not permissable under the first amendment.

You took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. Your stated postition is opposed to the very constitution that you swore to support. At the very least, you are betraying your oath. At worse, you are a trator.

Kevin Grishkot

Timoniuom, MD

Does the General approve of the Renquist court? If he does, then how can he reconcile his position that courts should follow the majority rule, when this court has struck down more laws that Congress, presumably representing the majority of Americans, have enacted?

I am a WWII vet. I said the pledge [without the 'GOD' insert] while placing the hand over the heart and facing our beautiful flag each morning throughout my public school career. We loved to do this, there was no misbehaving at those times. Not one of my schoolmates had parents born in the USA and we were of fairly diverse origins.

It angers and upsets me that that phrase about "GOD" has been interjected into this very emotional memory I still treasure. Let's not kid ourselves, this terrible change is specifically Christian and part of the never-ending battle we must engage in to prevent proselytizing by evangelistic branches of the fundamentalist Christian segment of our society.

Not to trivialize the topic, when my Mother-in-Law - whose opinion is identical to mine - hears the topic brought up, she snaps, "It spoils the meter!".

I feel that "under God" should be removed. It serves no purpose in pledging alegiance to the US nor does it have anything to do with patriotism and is easily confused with the idea that the US is promoting and pushing Christianity. When presidents say "God bless you" this at the end of speaches, it also furthers this confusion. Especially now that the US is heavily involved in Iraq it is important to be clear that we are not christian biased.

I also do not state "under God" when the pledge is said. In particular, it undermines Buddhists and Toaists, which are non-theistic traditions) as loyal US citiziens.

The gentleman who started this....

This is NOT about church and state. This is about getting back at his ex wife, and using his child and the judical system to do it.

If he cared about church and state, this would be about reproductive rights, gay marriage, the spending of public funds on church based social programs and the "blue laws" of the south.

It is sad when an individual is armed with intelligence and spite. He says he wants his child to make their own mind up...but if that were the case, he would not have started this.

I DO believe in seperation of church and state....but I think we should focus on what is affecting real people every day....but then again, I dont have an exwife to get back at...

The country was founded on freedom of (and from) religion. It is important to look at the history of relgion and politics here and in Europe and elsewhere. There are profound lessons to be learned from this.

I define a religion as one's beliefs about God. Therefore i consider Atheism as a religious belief similar to Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism etc. if that's true isn't removing "God " from the pledge an endorsemant of the Atheistic religion?

I had to take my greatgrandson to pre-k, and missed the first part of the program. The talk is about other religions. Some that were mention were Muslim's (Allah), Indians (Visnu) etc. There are 1.8 Billion Muslim's in the world who chant "Allah Akbar", which means "God is Great". "Allah" is their name for "God". The Jewish people are not considered christian, yet they worship "God". Different people's have different names for "God", the Higher Being. The only people who object to "One nation under God" are those who do not believe in a higher being. Scientist talk of the "Big Bang" and say science and religion are not compatibality. Question, Where did the matter come from that banged. What was the length of "God's" day. IF there is no 'God", then those who believe in Him, have nothing to lose. IF there is a "God", and things happen that has been fortold, woe be unto them. If someone does not want to recite the pledge of allegiance, they don't have to, they can just keep their mouth shut during the pledge. I believe that the vast majority of the people of the United States, do believe in "God", and according to the law, majority rules.

Edgel R. Gillespie, San Antonio, Texas.

When I was a small, aetheist, schoolchild in bible-belt Texas, I was told that Eisenhower (a fellow Texan) had suddenly added the words, "under god" in the middle of the pledge. Even though I was tiny, and just learning English, it confused me to have the words, "one nation indivisible" suddenly divided by two commas and the words, "under god". I never said those two words, just silently mouthing "indivisible" a first time before saying it.

I always appreciated another fellow Texan, Madeline Murray O'Hare (although I thought she was from Chicago because of that airport), for fighting overt prayer and eventually winning out. But it always struck me as a strange, grammaticial peculiarity that President Eisenhower had done such a weird thing with the pledge. What does loyalty to my country have to do with saying something that has nothing to do with the country?

In response to Gusjohndad2's comments stating that removing the words "under god" endorses the atheistic religion, I have posted this statement. Myself a Pagan, I know for a fact that some people still believe in a supreme deity without using the word "god" (Goddess, Thor, Vishnu, Allah, Buddha, Zeus, Athena, Ra, Anubis,etc).Gusjohndad2's comment is obviously said from a conservative christion viewpoint.

What about those of us who do not believe in a "God"? I, frankly, think that religion is the most outrageous propaganda ever perpetrated against humanity. I believe in myself and my fellow humans, not an unknown, unproveable diety. I ask that those who do believe in a "God" cease to promote their theories and thus violate my right NOT to believe in a "God"....

Furthermore, the country was founded upon a constitutional republic, not an unconstitutional democracy. Look up the definitions!! My indiviudal rights, which infringe on NO ONE else's ights, are being used against me. I do NOT chose to belong to such a society. It is my "Constitutional Right!!"

Our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, has a third stanza, though seldom sung, that states, in part, "And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust!' And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave." Brace yourselves, for the courts may be replacing our national anthem with the latest rapper release. And it will never stop there.

It is interesting that the General seemed to be promoting the pledge as part of our Christan heritage. I am a Christain and I feel that the rules surrounding flag handling and the way we do the pledge amount to idolatry. If he also believes in the Ten Commandments maybe he should review the one about paying homage to graven images.

I also find it distressing that some of the politicans who promote the pledge and so called patriotism in form have no care about improving the quality of health care, education, or preventing jobs from going overseas. They seem to be paying homage to the free market rather than the people and infrastructure of their own country.

The General says we're pledging or asserting belief in a higher power who sets the laws. That in itself is a religious idea. The phrase "under God" is in itself a deistic religious idea. We are not "under god" in my view. We are "one with God," and that includes everything, not just this cultural fad we call America.