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The "under God" and the "under": which does what kind of harm?

Do you want to play a switch in a relationship, or do you want to play the submissive in a dominant/submissive relationship?

Look carefully at the words "under God".

I dislike the "God" part; I believe the "under" part is psychological poison.

While wars result from failures by diplomats, they are an acid test of a society.

During both world wars in the last century, German soldiers' belt buckles carried the words "Gott mit uns" (God is with us).

Without the "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, America won those wars.

With those words, America regularly loses wars.

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Leaving war aside, SCOTUS in its 1940 Gobitis vs. Minersville decision held that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance each day brings school children into the political culture.

What does recital by adults do?

I believe the Pledge conditions adults' minds to cruelties like those done long ago in the Stanley Milgram experiments at Yale University. In those experiments, normal adults obeyed authority figures even they they believed they were inflicting serious pain.

The "under" in the Pledge conditions adults' minds to playing the submissive role, the same role that fundamentalist xians play all their lives.

What say you?

Tags: atheism, philosophy, politics, religion, science

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Permalink Reply by Theofrak on May 3, 2012 at 10:41am

The "under God" statement in the pledge seems to conflict with the Treaty of Tripoli: "the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded upon the Christian religion."

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Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on May 3, 2012 at 10:49am

Adams could have taken that statement one step further and say that the United States is not founded upon ANY RELIGION.

As for "under god," that would tend to imply the possibility that god's laws (whatever they are) could supersede the law of the land, doubtless a circumstance that those of Rick Santorum's ilk would just dote on. The phrase should be removed ... PERIOD.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on May 3, 2012 at 6:35pm

Good point, Loren; I've been reading the "under" as applying to an individual who, besides wanting the submissive role in a D/S relationship, wants everyone to do the same.

A committed xian can easily read it as you suggest--that American law is "under" the law they claim to follow.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on May 3, 2012 at 6:23pm

The "under God" statement in the pledge DOES conflict with the Treaty of Tripoli.

I've found that some xians are so committed to the "founded on xianity" line that I first have to get their agreement that a treaty is the law of the land. Then, when I bring up the Treaty of Tripoli objection, they don't know what to say.

They are so "under" (obedient) to their leaders that they are unable to recognize a lie, let alone think for themselves.