Quote Originally Posted by Andres View Post
What is with Americans and their religion? "God bless America" vs. the concepts "secular state" and "seperation of church and state". I'm intrigued.
It's a tension that has existed in America since well before the Revolution. Contrast the Puritans in Massachusetts with the profit-motivated tobacco farmers of Virginia (my people, BTW).

Note that the oath of the Presidency does not contain any reference to God, but that George Washington insisted that he be sworn on a Bible, and added the words, "So help me God," as well as kissing the Bible at the end. Everything but the kiss has survived intact for centuries, although it is codified nowhere.

Note that the Pledge of Allegiance was composed in 1892 by a socialist minister, and did not contain any reference to God until 1954, when it was thought that adding the words "under God" would help root out socialists and communists. Like the one who invented the Pledge in the first place.

Observe that the Treaty of Tripoli, negotiated by our second President and the first bill to be ratified by a unanimous senate, contained the following language: "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen [...]"

We're a nation of paradox and contradiction. I think it just adds to our charm and girlish figure.

Kadgar, I'm afraid Banquo is right; both your OP and your subsequent posts have had a certain lives-under-a-bridge-eating-wayfarers quality.

I stand by my "jerk" theory. You don't see lawsuits of this sort unless somebody is being unreasonable. That could have been the teacher picking on a student, which does happen. And that could be a student (and more likely his parents) jumping on a chance to sue the Great Satan for daring to contradict their Biblical literalism. I haven't read the court transcripts, so I wouldn't attempt to say who is the Jerk Prime.