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Should public schools display 'In God We Trust'?
YES
David Ball
It's a part of our history
As a nation, we continue to be locked in a debate that stretches our unity to the limits. At the heart of the debate is the Declaration of Independence, a document based upon the premise that all people are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” It is the very foundation on which this nation’s government would be constructed.
If there is any weakness in our forefathers’ work, it was their ability to understate the obvious. But that does not mean the obvious does not exist. Let me illustrate with a classroom example: I don’t say to my students, “Do not stand on your head and gargle peanut butter.” Although the exact statement is not made, it is obvious that it is not my wish for any student to behave in this manner. Anyone—student, adult or child—can likewise conclude that our Founding Fathers not only believed in, but also trusted in, the divine power of God to raise this nation from its grass roots to the one nation under God that it is today.
The national motto “In God We Trust” originated during the Civil War. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase asked James Pollock, the director of the Mint at Philadelphia, to find wording for a motto to be used on Union coins during the War. These coins were to make reference to the fact that the Union was on God’s side in regard to slavery and the war. Chase selected “In God We Trust.” After Congress passed the necessary legislation, the motto was first used on some coins in 1864. It was placed alongside “E Pluribus Unum” (from the Latin “one from many,” referring to the many independent colonies that came together to form our government). The new motto also demonstrates this nation’s reference to its Christian heritage—without closing our borders to people of other faiths.
Can this motto legally be posted in our public school classrooms? Indeed it can, and it should. It has stood up to the courts’ scrutiny on numerous occasions. The 5th, 9th and 10th Circuit Courts of Appeals have all heard cases on the motto and concluded that it meets constitutional standards. All of these federal cases were denied a hearing by the U.S. Supreme Court. If the high court feels this issue is settled by the current precedent, then we should put the issue to rest.
The national motto not only is allowable but also a beautiful part of our history and heritage. When tragedies like war and other issues threaten to divide us, we need to advance the belief that not only in the past and present but also in the future, we will trust in God to sustain us. We are now in another test of this nation’s strength. As my state of Mississippi and our Gulf Coast neighbors rebound from the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we still echo our national motto by faith: “In God We Trust.”
David Ball, a teacher at Tupelo (Miss.) High School, has taught government, American history and global studies.
NO
Beth Graham
It's divisive and coercive
After the Sept. 11 attack on our country, there has been a renewed sense of patriotism. Traveling down the highways, I pass signs that say God Bless America, Proud To Be an American, or One Nation Under God. Is there anything wrong with this? Of course not. This is one way people show their national pride and loyalty for the country of their birth. And people are free to place whatever signs they see fit on their property.
Recently, however, the American Family Association and many others are pushing legislation that would encourage or mandate our national motto, “In God We Trust,” to be posted all over public schools. By all over, I mean in the classrooms, in the hallways, the gymnasium, the cafeteria and any other room they see fit. Is there anything wrong with this? Yes! Public schools are open to all people. And all people come with various cultural backgrounds and beliefs, some of which do not claim a belief in the God intended in the motto and some of which do not claim a belief in any god. Like the United States, this elementary school houses people—administrators, teachers and students—of all religions and cultural backgrounds.
The poster would only divide students into two groups: those who believe in a single deity, which they call God, and those who do not. It is insulting to America’s diverse population to presume that we all share a common belief in a monotheistic deity, or any deity at all, and that we share a common religious background. After all, our country was not founded on a religious ideal but rather on the idea of freedom: freedom of religion and freedom from religion.
The idea of equating patriotism to a belief in God stems from the 1950s “Red Scare,” when Americans were taught to fear the spread of “godless communism.” This also was the time when “In God We Trust” became our national motto rivaling the traditional “E Pluribus Unum.” The original motto, which translates as “from many, one,” was put into place by our Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. If proponents of the National Motto Display Act want to show a sense of national pride and respect for our American heritage, what better way to do so than to uphold our country’s Constitution created by our Founding Fathers? If they want to unify all Americans, why not do that with signs of our original national motto “E Pluribus Unum”?
Beth Graham, an atheist and advocate of church-state separation, is a teacher’s assistant at Simmons Elementary School in Clayton, N.J.
