In God “We” Trust
Across the U.S. you see it everywhere. Between money and public buildings, most Americans have probably seen the phrase ‘In God We Trust’. Even the pledge of allegiance mentions this God.
Some people do not like this phrase’s prevalence in society, and I cannot say I am too big of a fan either. This country was founded with religious tolerance. The first amendment specifically says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Is imprinting upon the very currency that runs the country “In God We Trust” not respecting an established religion? By respecting, I mean acknowledging.
The phrase was put on the currency in the 1950’s, to scare off the ‘godless’ Communists in the world. That was 60 years ago. It simply is not necessary anymore.
The money issue could be solved with phasing out the old phrase, such as America already trying to phase out the penny. This solution seems large and drastic, I know, but America could maybe somehow find a different solution, drastic or otherwise. Either way, the phrase’s implications of being placed upon the heart of our country’s financial systems, an important part of our lives, are far enough in the wrong direction in regards to our freedoms.
America’s motto is e pluribus unum, meaning “out of many, one.” Wouldn’t this be a better phrase to quote within this country? It truly could be this phrase or another. The current slogan just isn’t the one we should have all around our country. There are so many different things we could use as to not alienate any one group. America is about all of us individuals under one flag after all.
When it comes down to it, “In God We Trust” seems to show favoritism. This can either be intentional or not, but it is clear that it says that America, the ‘we’, believes in God. Do Americans believe in God? Not all of them.
I’m not saying that we should have every god in existence mentioned where the Christian God currently is. Nor am I saying that we should drastically change all that we know in an instant. I just think there should either be nothing there or a new phrase without religious implication. Even if changing this phrase turns out to be impossible to do, I at least want its implications to be known.
Simply having nothing on the money or buildings does not put an implication that you believe what you want to believe, or even nothing if that is what is true to you. A blank slate or a new quote would mean that Americans do not have to believe in a god to believe in their government, the thing that most directly dictates their lives.
Jordan Sanzottera • Mar 14, 2018 at 12:08 PM
This country was built on religious tolerance, but this country was also built on Christian values.
Palmer Soberg • Mar 14, 2018 at 7:50 AM
Christianity is what America is founded on. From the Pilgrims of Massachusetts to the Catholics of Maryland this countries values are founded on that of the Judaeo-Christian belief system. Mentioning God is not respecting an establishment because Christianity is made of many establishments, not showing favoritism towards any of them. It is important to understand why the Founders put this part of the First Amendment in the Constitution at all. Many of them came from a country where you could be imprisoned or killed for your belief and many more came from countries where the Catholic church exercised great control over their government. The Right is meant to protect us from this oppression, like most of them, not to prevent America from promoting its heritage. This push to end this wording is exactly the reason we need it as people strive to alienate any ties America has to being a leader in truth and rooted morals. In summary, America is a country founded on Christianity. From the justice system to our beliefs on what is right and wrong our society reflects Christianity.
Jordan Sanzottera • Apr 2, 2018 at 7:20 PM
I agree with you completely.