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In the first week of my CRT 205 Critical Thinking class I was shocked to read this as one of our first assignments. Quote:"The following are excerpts from the ruling by a three judge federal appeals court panel in San Francisco that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional because it includes the phrase "one nation under God." The vote was 2 to 1. Judge Alfred T. Goodwin wrote the majority opinion, in which Judge Stephen Reinhardt joined. Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez wrote a dissent."(Moore-Parker:Critica l Thinking 7th edition)

I was asked to write a rebuttal to an article which agreed that the pledge of allegiance was unconstitutional. I have since taken a look at the opinions of the Supreme Court judges and I don't see any way that they could have made another decision but it still Rankles. I am more in agreement with the following article about the Pledge of Allegiance and it's meaning to us as American. I found this under the search term, "The pledge of Allegiance."
In 1892, 1923, 1924 and 1954 the American people demonstrated enough concern about the actual words in the Pledge to make some necessary changes. Today there may be a tendency among many Americans to recite "by rote" with little thought for the words themselves. Before continuing with our tour, let's examine these 31 words a little more thoroughly.
I Pledge Allegiance I Promise to be faithful and true (Promise my loyalty)
to the flag to the emblem that stands for and represents
of the United States all 50 states, each of them individual, and individually represented on the flag
of America yet formed into a UNION of one Nation.
and to the Republic And I also pledge my loyalty to the Government that is itself a Republic, a form of government where the PEOPLE are sovereign,
for which it stands, this government also being represented by the Flag to which I promise loyalty.
one Nation under God, These 50 individual states are united as a single Republic under the Divine providence of God, "our most powerful resource" (according to the words of President Eisenhower)
Indivisible, and can not be separated. (This part of the original version of the pledge was written just 50 years after the beginning of the Civil War and demonstrates the unity sought in the years after that divisive period in our history)
with Liberty The people of this Nation being afforded the freedom to pursue "life, liberty, and happiness",
and Justice And each person entitled to be

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