Becket Fund doesn't get it

Becket Fund Vows Immediate Appeal to Preserve the Pledge Sep 14, 2005.

For generations, public school students have enjoyed the constitutional right to opt out of the Pledge if conscience dictates, and that's as it should be.

-- Anthony Picarello, President & General Counsel for The Becket Fund Unfortunately Mr. Picarello does not understand something about children: they don't know and are not told that they can "opt out". Furthermore, any child who does not say the pledge like everyone else can get severe social ostracism. That is, the system forces the child to say something false (that a god exists). This is highly unethical. FINALLY, the solution is obvious: just remove 'under god' from the Pledge:

I pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

This is yet another intentional (?) misunderstanding of the facts by a religious group. (The most egregious of these are the Intelligent Design Advocates.) Picarello is putting up a big fuss about not having a pledge: "If you don't want to say the Pledge then don't, but don't try to force others not to say it". This is bad logic. Newdow and others are aiming only to remove the constitutionally illegal religious content of the pledge. Two words should never have been added by congress in the first place and they should be gone. Picarello uses blatantly poor logic to imply that this is an effort to prevent the entire pledge from being said. Of course this is intended to incite patriotic objections. But removing the illegal religious content of the pledge would allow all peoples to say the entire Pledge with clear conscience. The poor logic of religious people should be flagged and flogged every time it is put forth in the public arena.