Students support pledge as is

Andrew Edwards

The Supreme Court threw out a lawsuit on Monday filed by a Northern

California atheist aimed at expunging the phrase “under God” from the

Pledge of Allegiance, a saying many local high school students said

should remain in the patriotic oath.

Several students at Huntington Beach High School said they

supported keeping the phrase in the pledge. Common reasons were

personal beliefs and a sense that religion has played a significant

role in American history and culture.

“I think it should stay in there,” 17-year-old Matt Bartosch said.

“I think America was founded by people who believed in God.”

The pledge was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a socialist

clergyman whose cousin, Edward Bellamy, wrote the utopian novel

“Looking Backward.” Francis Bellamy’s version did not include the

“under God” line, which was added in 1954 during the early years of

the Cold War. Many historians believe President Eisenhower supported

the change to distinguish American society from the state-enforced

atheism of the Soviet Union.

“It may not have been there in the beginning, but it was put there

by people who we elected and respected,” 16-year-old Stephanie

Jarnagin said.

The high court did not answer the Constitutional question posed by

Michael Newdow’s lawsuit -- whether saying “under God” in a public

school is or is not a violation of First Amendment language

prohibiting the establishment of religion by the government. Instead,

the court decided that since Newdow does not have custody over his

daughter, he does not have the right to file a lawsuit regarding her

education.

Without a definitive answer to the constitutional question, Marine

View High School Principal Steven Roderick said he expected a similar

case would wind up on a court’s docket in the future.

“I’m sure that we will probably see another attempt to bring that

before the body again on the issue of church and state,” he said.

Roderick said he has been an educator for 30 years, and that

controversies over religion and education are something he has

noticed mainly in the past five or six years.

“The issue didn’t seem to be a part of our personal discussions 20

years ago,” he said.

Edison High School Principal Cynthia Clarke said she was

disappointed the court did not provide a clear-cut resolution, adding

that in her opinion, there is nothing wrong with the “under God”

clause.

“I do feel that it skirted the real issue,” she said. “I was sorry

to hear that they didn’t make a real decision.

“Sometimes in our quest to become politically correct ... we

neutralize things to such a point that they become meaningless.”

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers education and crime