God Bless Texas!

Hat tip to Jay over at the Stop The ACLU blog:

Federal court upholds ‘ One State Under God ‘ in Texas Pledge of Allegiance


Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott prevailed in federal court Tuesday, Aug. 28, where a North Texas couple tried to prevent schoolchildren from reciting the Texas Pledge of Allegiance.

A federal district judge ruled against David Wallace Croft and his wife, Shannon, who sought a preliminary injunction because the Texas Legislature recently added the words “one state under God” to the state Pledge. Solicitor General Ted Cruz argued on the state’s behalf.

“With today’s ruling, a federal judge denied the plaintiffs’ attempt to prevent Texas schoolchildren from pledging their allegiance to ‘one state under God’ - just as they pledge to ‘one nation under God,’” Attorney General Abbott said. “The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held patriotic acknowledgments of the Almighty such as these are completely consistent with the U.S. Constitution. Texans can rest assured that we will continue vigorously defending their children’s ability to recite the state Pledge of Allegiance each morning.”

The plaintiffs, both professed atheists, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Their children are students in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District.

There is one word that I look for in all of this, and will highlight it in the next quote. If this word is included then I never understand why people have a problem with things. The word is “voluntary”.

The voluntary, teacher-led recitation of the Texas Pledge typically follows the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance in classrooms across the state. According to the state’s brief, the Legislature added the words “one state under God” to acknowledge the tradition and religious heritage inherent in America’s founding.

Voluntary means that you can include or exclude yourself from participation. It is your choice. The government is not forcing anything on you. I’m sure this is all very aggrevating to secularists.