In God They Lust

President Barack Obama gave a speech in Jakarta, Indonesia, last year telling his audience that the national motto of the United States of America is E Pluribus Unum.

From the reaction he immediately got from mentally disturbed members in Congress, one might have thought that the president had committed bloody murder.

Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) and 42 other livid members of Congress sent Obama a letter asking him to correct the error. “Not only did the president refuse to respond to our letter, but still on the White House website they have up the incorrect national motto,” Forbes complained to Fox News. “It does concern us,” whined the congressman.

Forbes also complained about certain “inaccuracies and omissions” in the new Capitol Visitor Center, accusing historians of: “sanitizing the public building of references to our national motto – including replacing the inscription of ‘In God We Trust,’ inscribed above the Speaker’s Rostrum with stars in a replica of the House Chamber – and cropping an actual picture of the chamber so you could not see the words ‘In God We Trust.’’

The omissions were later corrected after Congress intervened, said Forbes.

“There’s been no motto in U.S. history that’s been more inspirational than In God We Trust,” he piously declared, adding that he felt it was appropriate for members of Congress to “firmly declare our trust in God.”

So the House of Representatives got together last Tuesday night, at the request of Congressman Forbes, and passed by a 396-9 vote, a bi-partisan resolution reaffirming In God We Trust as the official motto of the United States. It was a direct response to President Obama’s refusal to correct the remarks he made which misstated the motto as E pluribus Unum instead of In God We Trust.

The resolution not only affirms In God We Trust as the national motto, but it also “encourages its display in public buildings and government institutions,” according to Forbes. Predictably, it was roundly condemned by the American Humanist Association and other Atheist groups who deem the motto unconstitutional and non-inclusive.

Forbes explained that the motto has been under attack over the past three years, warning of a “disturbing trend of inaccuracies and omissions, misunderstandings of church and state, rogue court challenges and efforts to remove God from the public domain by unelected bureaucrats.”

“There are a very small number of people, but unfortunately very vocal people who really want to attack faith in every element of the nation,” Forbes added.  “But we’re not going to go quietly into the night.”

When have these foaming at the mouth religionists ever gone quietly?

Of course, standing alone, this national motto controversy is a trivial issue, however, if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times, these people – a 396 to 9 majority of lawmakers -- will never be satisfied until the United States of America is a Christian theocracy.

The original intent of the founding fathers together with the Constitution may be damned and discarded in the process as far as they are concerned.

President Obama might not always be right, but this time he was, and it’s about time that these religious fanatics faced up to the fundamental historical facts.

Established by an act of Congress in 1782, i.e. by our founding fathers, the United States of America already had the perfect motto: The Latin phrase: “E. Pluribus Unum” -- (From Many One) -- referring to the original 13 colonies combining to form the United States of America.

This motto is inclusive. It offends no one. It describes our nation accurately. It makes metaphorical sense. It fits the historical facts.

But during the Cold War communist hysteria of the mid 1950’s, President Eisenhower and a Christian religionist Congress signed “In God We Trust” into law in 1956 as the new official motto of the United States. It’s a phrase taken from a line in the Star Spangled Banner, composed by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812, which subsequently became the national anthem.

In God We Trust doesn’t fit the historical facts. It’s divisive. It offends a growing non-religious minority. It fails completely to describe the nation as it was founded. It’s metaphorical nonsense. Who can even define what it means?

This nation was not founded upon any trust in God. The early history of our republic is exceedingly well documented. God had nothing to do with it.

The two most important founding documents are the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Neither even mention the word “God” much less attribute any trust in Him. To the contrary, the founders specified in the Bill of Rights that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.

“We the People” created the United States. The Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States were inspired by the people. The Revolutionary War was fought by the people. These are the undeniable historical facts. There was no divine intervention.

None of the enumerated Articles in the Constitution are derived from the bible. There is no biblical morality in it anywhere. The people of the United States do not trust in God to choose the president and lawmakers. We the people elect them. We do not trust in God to defend our country. We rely upon the people. We do not trust in God’s laws in the bible. We abide by laws passed by the people.

We do not trust in God to provide liberty and justice for all. We choose human beings from among the people who are accountable and govern by consent of the people. We do not trust in God to supply our sustenance. We do that for ourselves.

Individuals might trust in a God – a nation cannot. We the people, as a nation, do not trust in God for anything.

So why has In God We Trust become the new national motto, and why is the Congress reaffirming what is already the law with an unnecessary resolution?

Certainly not because it is true; not because it metaphorically describes us; and not because it makes any logical sense; no; those who changed it did so because their own individual private religious faith requires public government support. They demand a government God. They need constant reassurance for their beliefs.

At the core, they don’t trust “We the People.” They don’t trust reason and logic. It threatens their faith. They aren’t satisfied with the secular government our founding fathers took such pains to create. They want it more their way; the Christian way.  

They want the Ten Commandments in their Holy Bible displayed prominently in every American courtroom. They want the state to govern everyone by enforcing those commandments, right along with all the rest of biblical morality.

They want federal, state, and local governments to promote Good Friday, Easter, Christmas, and erect Christian nativity scenes in every public square at taxpayer expense. They want Christian crosses erected and maintained in public parks.

They want all the little school children in America to recite a loyalty oath every single day affirming that this nation is “under God.” They still aren’t satisfied with how they have it now. They want to force their Christian deity down all our throats.

In God They Lust.