In G-d We Trust- Or It is Ok to Offend People

A short time ago I received a copy of a chain letter

I received this from a friend on the Internet and thought it was an interesting idea.

You may have heard in the news that a couple of post offices in Texas have been forced to take down small posters that say "In God We Trust." The law, they say, is being violated.

Anyway, I heard proposed on a radio station show that we should all write "In God We Trust" on the back of all our mail. After all, that is our national motto, and it's on all the money we use to buy those stamps. I think it is a wonderful idea.

We must take back our nation from all the people who think that anything that offends them should be removed.

If you like this idea, do it. The idea of writing or stamping "In God We Trust" on our envelopes sounds good to me. It has been reported that 86 per cent of Americans believe in God. Therefore, I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a fuss about having "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in the pledge of Allegiance.

Could it be that we just need to take action and tell the other 14 per cent to "sit down and shut up?"

Letters like this irk me for a number of reasons. I'll start by saying that far too many people accept things at face value, they just assume that if it is in print it must be true. Ok, so is this true?

If you go to this link you will see a long explanation debunking this story, or should I say providing clarification.

"The posters in question were donated to public buildings in Montgomery County, Texas by Frank P. Williamson in 2002. They feature the words "In God We Trust" over an image of a waving American flag and identify the phrase as the national motto of the United States.

In November, 2002, a United States Post Office supervisor ordered the posters removed, citing regulations that prohibit the display of any non-postal or non-government posters on postal property. The regulation mentions nothing about "electioneering" and simply maintains that nothing is to be posted in post offices that is not created or approved by the USPS or Federal government."

The purveyors of this letter would have you believe that the posters were pulled down based upon some nefarious agenda which is simply not true. In simple terms this was done based upon an established policy that these posters violated.

Part of what irritates me is the end of the letter which says

It has been reported that 86 per cent of Americans believe in God. Therefore, I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a fuss about having "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in the pledge of Allegiance.

Could it be that we just need to take action and tell the other 14 per cent to "sit down and shut up?"

Does the writer see the inherent hypocrisy in their position. They are upset because they are offended and in return they want to offend the people that hurt them. I wonder if the writer even bothered to find out the facts of the story.

Or are they among the many who cry about the attempt to pull "One nation under G-d" out of the pledge and are unaware that the line is an addition to the pledge, it is not even original.

The idea of majority rules does have limitations. Being part of a majority is not always indicative of holding the moral high ground. Nor does it mean that you are entitled to run roughshod over the thoughts, ideas and desires of the minority.

This just makes me shake my head.