*sigh*
...here we go round the mulberry bush, ta dum da dum...
Nope. Nothing generic about it, unless you are very parochial in your worldview. God (capital G) as used in the Pledge, etc. refers to a monotheistic deity as is found in the various sects of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Plenty of other religions share no such belief, never mind atheists like myself who think the whole religion thing is both silly and dangerous (nothing personal). Besides, if the usage
was that meaningless, what would be the point of it? Might as well be praying to the Easter Bunny (no offense to all you bunny worshipers
).
It may have been an add-in but it was done by the laws that govern us.
Yep. Which makes something legal
unless/until it is challenged in the courts and found unconstitutional. This is an attempt to use the issue in dispute as an argument. Does not compute.
our fore fathers wanted to get away from religious persecution
Some of them did, yes. Many others were transported from debtor's prison or what have you. Of course a lot of the religious types were eager to start doing their own persecuting as soon as they got over here. How is this relevant, anyway? If someone prefers not to officially enshrine your religious practices, is he persecuting you? Don't think so...
no matter how you feel it all comes down to the majority rules.
Actually, most of the measures in the bill of rights were intended to
protect the individual from the majority. Or so we are told, anyway. Maybe you have a different notion.
no one forces anyone to believe in anything
Well, no, that isn't really possible, is it? What you
can do is pressure others to participate in public religious rituals so as to validate your particular private beliefs as the "official" norm.
I'm actually not inclined to be fanatical about church/state separation. I don't mind some official recognition of people's sentiments, a la creche scenes at Xmas and the like. Trouble is, some people, you give them an inch and they start thinking they've got exclusive rights to the place. When you say "our" Pledge of Allegiance or "our" money, just which "us" are you referring to? Also, it's perfectly appalling that so many people can't seem to grasp the difference between speaking as a private citizen and speaking in an official capacity. I would
prefer to think that my fellow citizens are not so dense. <_<
"...as the Government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion..." --
from the Treaty of Tripoli (1797), negotiated under George Washington and signed under John Adams