Its come to this....God Bless America

[davidmc]

G'day, JH. It is not necessary to believe in a God in order to agree with a concept such as the social value in not killing or not stealing (or not doing naughty things to the neighbour's oxen). The atheist is disagreeing with the source, not necessarily the content.
This debate is remote to me (not my Country), but appears to be about alienating 1 group of society. If the the term used in the Pledge had been "under Allah", no doubt some of the posters who are currently promoting the continued inclusion of "under God" would be riled at that as it would be being required them to pledge to something in which they do not believe. I'm guessing that some Atheists feel similarly alienated in having their pledge of allegiance to the USA (which they do not appear to be objecting to) being bound to also believing in a God.
For some people this may be a big issue, for others, not. I was surprised that this was introduced in the 1950's - I had assumed that it was a Founding Fathers deal. Again, from the outside, it is interesting that those who believe that it should not be a big issue for an American Atheist also seem to believe that it would be a big issue for it not to be there.

Agree. "Walk a mile in another mans shoes" or "it's easy to be in the majority"

 

[davidmc]

You believe that humans cannot reason. Then take what you get and don't complain.

You may have misunderstood me. I believe in human reason & evolution until I hear/read something better.

 

[Wurm]

The fact that murders and rapes and crime goes on is an indication that we need something beyond our patheric ability to reason and cope.

That could well be the case, but it's not the job of the Gubmint to force religiosity on anyone.

 

[jhuskey]

You may have misunderstood me. I believe in human reason & evolution until I hear/read something better.

Apparently I did Dave. I was justy wondering, as I had stated, if athiest disagreed with the meaning of the content of text such as the Ten Commandements or if it is just the context they are presented in.
Whether you are a believer or disbeliever such writting IMO present fundamental ideals that are necessary to a functioning society.
I would not be so arrogant to state that I have the answer to the worlds problem.
Each of us must find our own way to be what we feel is correct for ourselves . Some will fare better than others.
I am one that is huge a believer in personal accountabiity and imagine I always will be.
I do believe in civil liberties if taken with personal responsibility.

EoinC: I appreciate your view from outside our community,the US that is. It is good to get perspective views.
The mirror lies to us sometimes.