"under God", should it be taken out?? Options

[starling]

The case is up before the Supreme Court. So what do you think??

[anoniez]

I personally don't think it should be taken out; although I am athiest, I don't find it offensive at all and rarely say it. hahah so I'm really arguing both sides in this post. What a paradox.

However, a point I want to add to all the people who said that you're not obligated to say it:
Whereas you may not feel obligated to say it now, old as you are, little kids are extremely influence by peer pressure and may say it just because everyone else is.. I know I used to. Don't assume that just because you feel comfortable not saying it, everyone else is the same. The point is that there should be no inkling of pressure at all to say the pledge if you don't want to- something that is hard to avoid with small children unless you take out the words "under God."

I also find fault with saying that "it's always been that way, why change it now?"
One might as well say, back in the first half of the 1800s, that "slavery has always been the way things are, why change it now?"

on the other side:
A lot of people view "under God" as a purely historical reference. You're not pledging allegiance to any "God," you're pledging allegiance to "the flag of the United States and to the republic for which it stands," whose founders did believe in God and did found our nation on Judeo-Christian principles. The words "under God" can be viewed simply as a testament to the enormous role that Christianity has played in our nation's history, through which the majority of Americans have been Christian.
this was just an interesting argument i read somewhere.
also look to the mentioning of a God in various historical documents.. "in the year of our Lord," "God-given inalienable rights" etc.. these bear testimony to the part Christian principles have played in the founding of our government. the nation wasn't founded directly ON God, but Christianity sure had a large influence.