Ruling shows Americans need to take a stand

The decision of the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners to open their meetings with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer is a small but powerful symbolic gesture in the wake of a ruling last week by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that public schools cannot have students recite the pledge because the phrase “one nation under God” violates the constitutional provision for separation of church and state. The ruling was precipitated by a lawsuit brought by Michael Newdow, a Sacramento atheist who objected because his second-grade daughter was required to recite the pledge in school.

National outrage was swift and sharp, including in Congress where the U.S. Senate opened session by reciting the pledge. A Newsweek poll over the weekend found that 90 percent of Americans believe the Pledge of Allegiance with the “under God” terminology is appropriate in public schools.

Many legal scholars believe that the 9th Circuit Court ruling will be “dead on arrival” when it reaches the U.S. Supreme Court, which itself invokes the word “God” in its opening ceremonies. These legal scholars generally argue that the pledge is simply a longstanding American tradition that in no way forces people to acknowledge or accept one religion over another. No one has reported schools requiring students to recite the pledge – it’s a matter of personal freedom, which, after all, is the most fundamental tenet of U.S. government.

Mr. Newdow’s lawsuit and the subsequent appeals court ruling are just the latest examples of how fringe elements of society are abusing the legal system to dismantle mainstream American traditions and values.

The 9th Circuit has become a cesspool of radical ideas. It has ruled, for example, that Idaho motorists can drive high on marijuana if they do not drive erratically and can pass a field sobriety test. It has ruled that inmates have a right to mail their sperm from prison. It ruled that the rights of a few spotted owls to vast areas of forest habitat supercede the rights of loggers to harvest trees. It ruled that cows should not be allowed to graze on public land. The bottom line is this court is systematically dismantling everything that communities such as ours stand for.

This time the court has gone to far. It has rendered a ruling that even the most liberal members of the U.S. Senate summarily rejected. In so doing the court has greatly diminished its own credibility … not only in the hallowed halls of Congress but on Main Streets across this land.

In light of the damage the 9th Circuit Court has done to this country – and especially the rural areas of this great country – it is entirely fitting that the governing body of Wallowa County has chosen to take a stand. It is a good example for all Americans to follow.

God bless the United States of America. R.S.