7/12/02

Dear

I am writing this letter to express to you my sincere concerns following the recent public outcry over the ruling of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the inclusion of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I would urge you to support this decision and to not engage in any effort to counter the decision via legislation or an attempt to amend the Constitution.

While the vast majority of Americans profess Christianity as their religion, there is a significant minority that do not. I am a member of that minority.

Our Constitution guarantees that no religion will be promoted over another, that our government shall not become entangled in the matter of religion, and that no one shall be forced to acknowledge a religion against their will. But by the act of Congress and the President in 1954, that is exactly what happened: Christianity was imposed upon those who practice alternative religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Paganism and others who do not adhere to the majority religion. It is also imposed upon those who profess no religion at all, a right that our Forefathers guaranteed by the first amendment of our Constitution.

This McCarthy Era law, as well as similar legislation of morality and religion such as the 1957 law replacing "E Pluribus Unum" with "In God We Trust" need to be struck down in order to preserve the integrity of our system and preserve the basic human rights of EVERY citizen, not just those of a vocal majority.

Again I would urge you to not support any effort to overturn this ruling and to also act to reverse similar legislation that provides a defacto endorsement of one religion over another, as "under God" does.

Return the Pledge to what it was when my Grandfather spoke it and fought for it in World War II.