Posted 2/7/01 Pledge of Allegiance under fire - Should it be required or is it outdated? By T.W. Budig ECM capitol reporter Schools would be required to have students and teachers recite the Pledge of Allegiance at least once a week under legislation proposed by Sen. Bob Kierlin, R, Winona. Reciting the Pledge would not be mandatory. Students or teachers whom did not wish to recite it would not be required to do so. Kierlin believes reciting the Pledge is a means of teaching children about patriotism. But not everyone agrees that the legislation, nor the Pledge, is in the best interest of the country. Marie Alena Castle, of the Minnesota Secular Council, believes the Latin motto, ìE Pluribus Unum,î or ìFrom many, one,î a more fitting focal point for an increasingly diverse society than the Pledge of Allegiance. ìItís ëOne nation out of many people,íî Castle said of the motto. Castle said she doesnít like the idea of pledges at all. Pledges are something she associates with dictatorships than democratic government, she said. No other democratic country has a pledge of allegiance, she said. Beyond the basic question of even having a pledge, Castle objects to having the phrase ìunder Godî in the current Pledge of Allegiance. As an atheist, she finds the words offensive because she does not believe sheís under a god. But even adherents of world religions could find that phrase objectionable, she said. ìHindus have hundreds, even thousands of gods,î she said. Hinduism is not a monotheistic religion, Castle said. And America has many Hindus living in it, she said. According to the Secular Council, the Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy as a merchandising tool for selling his companyís flags. This was in preparation of the 400th anniversary of Columbusís landing in the Americas. The Pledge, and also the usage of ìE Pluribus Unum,î were effected by Cold War politics. Communist were popularly described as ìgodlessî and in 1954 Congress voted to insert ìunder Godî in the Pledge. It was a way of further distancing the county from communism, the history suggests. Congress also voted later to change the countryís motto from ìE Pluribus Unumî to ìIn God We Trust.î President Theodore Roosevelt objected to having the motto ìIn God We Trustî printed on money saying it was wrong to have the inscription on an object often the currency of exchange of baseness. Humorist Mark Twain, writing at the turn of the century, said ìIn God We Trustî was a beautiful motto and it could only improve by making it true. But the thing Americans worship the most is money, he wrote. Getting back to the Pledge, Kierlin said even if people donít want to recite the Pledge ó certainly their choice ñ lessons can be learned. ìIf somebody has a strong belief in not saying the Pledge it opens an opportunity for a good lesson on the workings of the Constitution,î he said. But Castle said peer pressure will force students and teachers to take the Pledge whether they want to or not. Kierlinís bill has not yet had a committee hearing. ©Post Review