by Ben Rayman

Created on: February 22, 2010

Martin Luther King (1929-1968) said: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

In the long run, we all will stand by The Man

When the California 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rendered their decision, banning an opening ceremony for public school children across our Nation—the recitation of the Pledge Of Allegiance, on the grounds it violated the Establishment Clause separating church and state because of the “under God” portion Congress added in 1954, national reaction was speedy and immensely opposed to the 2-1 judge ruling, that it is an unconditional endorsement of religion.

The United States is known to be “world melting pot” of people. They are of all faiths— Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodist, Buddhism, Protestant, Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Islam, Christian, Hinduism etc. Many have immigrated through America’s “pearly gates” for one main reason: free to pursue a good life without having to abandon their own cultural heritages or be subjected to the oppression by the cruel use of governmental authority.

The vision of our Founding Fathers, as I see it, weren’t thinking about Henry Ford or even space travel, but what I believe they had on their minds, came from the knowledge they gained from firsthand experience: They wanted no part of the continual wars motivated by religious hatred, and had ruined many countries in Europe. In 1789, they took the bull by the horn, and spelled out where the first ten lines begin and stop, and it is abundantly clear, Number One has no loop holes: “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

The framers of our Constitution goal were to build a country, and it took people from all walks of life that could not only develop the plans through educated thought, but also crave out the land with their hands. You don’t have to flip open the history books to get a feel of what the United States of America is all about. If you have all your senses or maybe just a few, your heart, mind, and soul will pick up the slack to enable you realize “We, the People are endowed by our [their] Creator with

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