Subject:  Hopefully this will get some discussion going |
Author:
Beau Boudreaux
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 17:54:27 07/15/02 Mon
ALL RIGHT! I am ready to give my informed opinion now. I didn't think the idea of "Separation of Church and State" was in the Consitution. So I read it and in fact the only refrence to anything dealing with religion is:
"Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven and of the independence of the United States of America ...."
Source: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/const.html
So then I went on to read the amendments and the only inference to the "Separation of Church and State" is in the First Amendment which states:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Source: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/bor.html
The phrase "Separation of Church and State" comes from the personal writings of T. Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists, they were concerned that the Federal Government might side with one religious group over another. Jefferson assured them that the Federal Gov't was forbidden to do so. I looked all over for that American History book we read in DV, but couldn't find it. But the House Bill "First Amendment Restoration Act" does go into some detail and can be found at
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c107:1:./temp/~c107l6g6mq::
I remember the class discussions we had about how people like to put that phrase in the Constitution. So now you are asking how did the Court say the pledge violated the Constitution when the phrase is not in the Constitution? Well the first court case that twisted the meaning of the First Amendment and introduced the idea that separation was Constitutional came in Everson v. Board of Education (1947) it stated that:
"The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach. " Can be found at the above web addy.
This court case not only incorrectly interpeted the First Amendments' aims, prevent the est. of a National Church, but it began the practice of restricting the freedom of speech in schools, court rooms, businesses and the like. We are free to speak and assemble peacefully at a football game as long as no one says a prayer before hand. Ironic?
I think it is clear that the courts have misused their interpective power and sought to rewrite what is in the First Amendment. But I do not think that this injustice shall last forever. If you remember, Plessy v Ferguson (1896) ruled that "separate but equal" was constitutional, also the most significant Louisiana case ever to go before the Supreme Court. (Bennett Wall Ed. Louisiana: A History pg. 258) But then in 1954 the Supreme Court ruled again, this time in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka-which as we all know said that separate classrooms "created an inherently unequal situation." The ruling also said that the law "violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment." (pg. 343) Inerestingly enough, the Fourteenth Amendment was passed long before the Plessy v Ferguson case came to trial. So just because a court, or even the Supreme Court says something is constituonal, or not, that does not mean that it will remain constitutional, or not.
In conclusion, this debate could go on for hundreds of years, with each generation claiming that it had the "correct" meaning of the Constitution and reversing the decisions of the preceding generation. I agree with a friend who claims that the insertion of "Under God" weakens the pledge. While the phrase may be effective for fighting Communism, I agree with others that the phrase attaches religious overtones to a pledge that should be made from the depths of one's heart regardless of his religiuos practices. Ironically I will continue to "insert" the phrase b/c that is the pledge that I have made my whole life and will stand by that pledge. I would like to remind everyone that millions of Americans took a Pledge of Alligiance for the United States- some even took it daily; however, they still decided to leave the Union, found a new country, and then proceed to kill their former brothers in citizenry. I doubt very very much that if the phrase "One Nation under God" was in the Pre-Civil War Pledge, that the South would have remained loyal to the Union, that there indeed would only have been one nation. So there are my thoughts and opinions. Hope the sources were helpful, and if you want more details on them you can email me. Have a great day everybody.
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 
