Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.“One state under God. Those four words are new to the state pledge of allegiance, and, despite protests, they should stay. ... Neutrality is the aim. The First Amendment does not permit government to endorse religion, but neither can it exhibit hostility toward religion. It's a delicate balance, to be sure, but including the words 'under God' in the Texas Pledge successfully and constitutionally walks that line.”
Nonsense. Adding "under God" to the Texas pledge is not neutrality. It clearly and plainly endorses religion. D'oh. That's the whole point, isn't it? And it endorses a particular variant of religion, besides. A simple test for the Attorney General is this: would he support adding "under Allah" to the Texas pledge?
That said, this brazen act of endorsing religion will probably pass Constitutional muster. There are enough precedents, from the "under God" in the pledge of allegiance to the United States flag to the "In God We Trust" on our currency to the "So help me God" in courtroom oaths. All of these, too, are plainly and clearly acts of government endorsement of religion, but they are so well established that no court will dare rule them unconstitutional now.
So, let's move on. Let the fundamentalists have their daily endorsement of God by government edict. But don't be hypocritical about it and claim that adding "under God" is somehow neutral, somehow isn't a government endorsement of religion. Don't insult our intelligence, Attorney General Abbott.
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