June 29, 2002
Saturday - 1:00 am

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. We should have seen this coming. The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that desecrating the Flag of the United States is "protected speech."

If the 9th Circuit's ruling is allowed to stand, millions of American schoolchildren will be denied the right to recite the Pledge. The denial will exist simply because the phrase "one nation under God" offends one atheist and two judges. According to the warped reasoning used by the judges, the words amount to a government establishment of religion. Thus the Pledge is "unconstitutional." I can't help but wonder if these same judges pay their bills via unconstitutional means. After all, is not U.S. currency emblazoned with the words "In God We Trust"?

If the word "God" makes the Pledge unconstitutional, is the oath taken by witnesses in the courtrooms unconstitutional? What about the oaths of office taken by our public officials, including judges?

The 9th Circuit's decision clearly contradicts the very words uttered during the opening of each Supreme Court session: "God save the United States and this honorable Court." In addition, the Senate and the House employ chaplains and recite prayers daily. It is obvious that the members of these bodies have read the entire First Amendment, including the portion that states Congress shall pass no law "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion. The Courts ruled long ago that reciting the Pledge cannot be mandatory. Thus, only the rights of those belonging to the overwhelming majority of Americans are being denied.

As national commander of The American Legion, I promise that our organization will stand with the American people all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary to correct this grave injustice.

It is sad that while American troops are fighting a war against terrorism, our courts are fighting a war against the U.S. Flag. First the Supreme Court rules that flag desecration is protected speech. Now, the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional.

Opponents of the flag protection amendment have warned of a "slippery slope." They were right, but the slope is not slanting in the direction they predicted. The Senate's failure to protect Old Glory and the actions of the 9th Circuit demonstrate that when you trivialize the flag of the United States, you trivialize everything associated with it.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., has called the 9th Circuit's ruling "just nuts." I share his view. I call upon him to extend his outrage to the earlier Supreme Court ruling, permitting flag desecration. Let us not fight this battle halfway. Respect for the flag and respect for the Pledge of Allegiance go hand-in-hand. If Sen. Daschle is serious about protecting the Pledge and the Flag, I ask him to schedule a vote and round up support for the flag-protection amendment immediately.

If you think that these court actions do not affect you, you are seriously mistaken.

In his dissent, 9th Circuit Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez warns that even patriotic songs are endangered. "'God Bless America' and 'America the Beautiful' will be gone for sure," Fernandez said. "And while use of the first and second stanzas of the 'Star-Spangled Banner' will still be permissible, we will be precluded from straying into the third."

Perhaps this outrage would have never occurred if the judges had only read the Declaration of Independence. With its references to "God," the "Creator" and "divine Providence," it is clear that our founding fathers did not intend for America to be an atheistic nation. Moreover, flag-protection laws existed for 200 years before the Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional. It is time to return to the American people the right to protect both: the Pledge of Allegiance and the Flag of the United States.

Note: Richard J. Santos is national commander of the 2.8 million-member American Legion, the nation's largest wartime veterans organization.

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