EDITORIAL
By: Steve Bates
Do yourself a favor this week. Forget about that panel of judges in California who said the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. It’s not worth it not today anyway.
Today is a day to celebrate, not only the signing the Declaration of Independence, but the day our forefathers joined together and entered into a contract to live the idea of America.
That idea is one of hard work and of sweat. It is a notion that says everyone, regardless of their race, sexuality or religious belief can plug into this system and prosper.
Remember that we as Americans entered into a similar contract on Sept. 12. For a while we decided to put trivial matters, gossip and scandal in their rightful place. We decided as a people to get down to the business of making this country safe and pulling ourselves out of recession.
The World Trade Center was a financial nerve center. It was dedicated to the idea of that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness was a worthy endeavor. Those who died Sept. 11 lost their lives proving that the foundation laid by our forefathers was solid enough to build a nation on.
Remember those promises we made to ourselves after Sept. 11. It seemed America was ready to put down pettiness and partisan views and work together. We dropped Gary Condit like a hot potato. Instead of arguing about party-jumpers like Vermont Sen. James Jeffords, political rivals started working together. Instead of debating whether flag burning is protected speech, flags hung everywhere. For a while, we cared a little less about the trivial and a little more about what really mattered.
Now, the cynics have baited us with this pledge business ironically surfacing a week before a holiday that marks the beginning of this country.
Whether we are one nation under God is not important today. Heated debate and majority rule with protections for minority opinion is what makes this country great, though these things have their place. Let’s not take our eye off the ball today. Lest we forget, this is a nation that withstood a war against itself. We came out on the other side of the Civil War a changed nation, but stronger and more unified.
There will be time for debate. There will be time for additional legal appeals. There will be time for every voice to be heard. There will even be time for gossip and the trivial.
It’s just that we’ve had a hard year. We remain a nation in mourning. We owe it to those who died in pursuit of the American dream Sept. 11 not to give into squabbling today.
This is a day for unity. It’s a day to celebrate America. Whether we are or have ever been one nation "under God," we should remember today that we all are allies in pursuit of the American dream.