McDermott on God: Out of the Pledge & Not on Our Side
EFL from HumanEvents
Our Assistant Editor David Freddoso went to Capitol Hill and interviewed Rep. Jim McDermott (D.-Wash.) about the Pledge of Allegiance case which the Supreme Court has agreed to hear and whether God is on our side in the War on Terror. Once again, Mr. McDermott revealed a lot about himself.
Congressman, this Pledge of Allegiance case is coming up. In your opinion, should the Supreme Court order the word "God" be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance?
MCDERMOTT: I personally donât think it adds anything to the Pledge of Allegiance, and I personally donât say, "under God."
You just sort of pause there and let other people say it.
MCDERMOTT: Yeah. I consider it an infringement I donât like. I donât like infringements of Church and State. And so I donât know that Iâm rigid, but I try to be consistent.
When other people say it, couldnât that be offensive to some people? Maybe personally you donât find it really offensive, but couldnât that be offensive to people? Shouldnât it be stopped from being said in public if thatâs the-
MCDERMOTT: I think if people want to say it, thatâs their belief. But unfortunately in many wars, people always say, "Godâs on our side."
Actually, I wanted to ask you specifically about that, because John Kerry was asked that, and he didnât quite want to say, "Godâs on our side." What do you think about that? Is God on our side in the war on terrorism?
MCDERMOTT: No, I donât think Godâs on anyoneâs side. These are human events. Heâs quite often appalled at what we call on Him to do. Heâs given us the rules about social justice and the way we should treat one another. And if weâre doing that, I guess Heâs on our side, but-
If weâre trying to stop people who want to, you know, blow us up, donât you think He might be on our side for that?
MCDERMOTT: Well, you can look at some things that people have done, whether to other Americans or to other people in the world, and in the name of Christ, which I think might be questionable. So I think itâs tough to decide when God is on our side.
Thank you Congressman, I appreciate your time.
Posted by: Super Hose 2004-03-06 |