Well, this has been an interesting few days, I must say. On Wednesday, I was in absolute amazement after receiving a "breaking news" alert from CNN. It stated, "Federal appeals court rules Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because of words 'under God,' according to The Associated Press."
I read it twice, because I didn't quite believe what I'd read. But there it was. In black and white.
After getting over the shock, there was a momentary feeling of elation. Finally a federal judge had the balls to admit what no other judge would: that the insertion of those words was unconstitutional!
But the feeling didn't last more than a moment. I knew, of course, there was no way the ruling would be allowed to stand. The fanatics in this nation wouldn't permit it to. And I knew there would be a huge outcry from these people.
I just didn't realize how huge it would be.
I fully expected an outpouring of angry, self-righteous letters to the editor of newspapers across the country. I expected bitching and moaning and snide anti-atheistic comments from television and radio personalities. I expected the request for a rehearing (though I think it's a bit arrogant of CNN to already have "Under God/Overruled" on their website). I expected assholes like Trent Lott and Robert Byrd to denigrate Judge Goodwin's decision. I expected plaintiff Newdow to receive death threats from loving Christians.
And of course, all these things came to pass within the next day or two.
Maybe I was just naïve or overly optimistic, but I did not expect the Senate to consider a resolution expressing support for the Pledge, let alone a unanimous vote to recodify it. (Okay, Jesse Helms didn't vote, as he's recovering from surgery, but we know how he would've voted.) I didn't think they were so into pandering to piety that they would go out on the steps of the Capitol building and recite the Pledge, then sing "God Bless America."
Now, four days after the decision, I have to confess something: I'm a bit scared.
Okay, it's true that I'm nearly finished with my latest novel, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, a story about an America that has fallen fully into the hands of the religious right… where civil liberties are about as rare as honest politicians… And it's true that virtually everything I include in this future-story has its roots in what's going on today.
But I thought… I hoped… I was writing fiction.
As much as I applaud the decision itself, the fact is that it was very poor timing. The mix of hyper-religiosity and super-patriotism that exploded into our lives last September has not gone away. And this decision only injects more fuel into that particular fire. I'm afraid of what is going to happen. After this decision falls, I fear it will galvanize the religious crackpots who are out to take civil liberties away from all who don't believe the same things they do. I think this is a very real possibility, and I'm not at all looking forward to watching it happen over the next decade.
I spent the majority of my life having little to no trust in our politicians and the whole political process in this country. For a brief span of years, I put aside my disgust and apathy and tried to do things "the right way," by paying attention to what's going on, by voting, by writing letters to my Congresscritters…
But I no longer have the stomach for it. The behavior I've seen in this nation in the past year… and not just by our lawmakers, but by the populace at large… has made me think I was right to begin with… that the America I was taught about as a child is nothing more than a myth. Because I've never seen more than the barest hints of anything resembling that particular America. And I see nothing that tells me it's really there now.
