More compulsory religion for the US.
North Carolina’s McDowell County is now the third municipality in the state to approve adding the national motto “In God We Trust” to its public buildings.
The McDowell County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the inclusion of “In God We Trust” signs for county buildings last Monday.
So take that, atheists! And secularists, and people who don’t call themselves secularists but still don’t want god shoved on them in government buildings. Take that, all of you! No freedom of religion for you! Religion is mandatory around here and don’t you forget it.
(Also that “national motto” thing is ridiculous. That’s not a thing. We don’t have a national sock or a national dog or a national cookie – we don’t need a national motto, either. We can pick our own mottos. “In god we trust” is particularly obnoxious – I don’t trust that bastard an inch, because it’s just Rick Warren or the pope hiding behind a mask.)
“Upon presentation to our board, the commissioners’ voted to have, at no cost to the county, the motto displayed on the county administration building in two locations: in our boardroom and on the county courthouse,” said Walker.
“We did this to reaffirm what our Founding Fathers affirmed and that is our national motto is ‘In God We Trust.'”
Wow, that’s ignorant. The “founding fathers” did no such thing.
Alex Luchenitser, associate legal director with the Washington, D.C. –based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told CP that McDowell’s actions were unconstitutional.
“Placing large signs reading ‘In God We Trust’ on government buildings promotes religion to a substantially greater extent than does the historical practice of merely allowing the phrase to appear on coins in small type,” said Luchenitser.
“The county’s conduct sends its citizens a message that the county’s government favors the religious over the non-religious, and adherents to monotheist faiths over others.”
Yes it does. It’s none of their business. It’s not their job to try to force us or pressure us to take their god seriously.
Beginning in 1782, the (unofficial) national motto of the United States was E pluribus unum.
In God We Trust was adopted as our official motto in 1956.
So, yeah, dammit, it is our national motto, replacing the much cooler latin phrase. But it wasn’t chosen–or “affirmed”–by “our Founding Fathers.” Ignorami.
I can’t decouple E pluribus unum from Frank Morgan saying it as the Wizard.
https://youtu.be/RUvrtAUscR4
I vote for Cookie Monster as the favorite monster and reasonable republican as a favorite mythical creature
Ophelia–yeah, me too!
Maybe it’s time to propose we include “in pink unicorns we trust” as a national motto. It would make as much sense.
I’m partial to the motto of that pesky Boy Scouts of America group:
Be Prepared.
As a motto, it’s useful and about as far from the passivity of “In God We Trust” as it is possible to get.
Does this create an “open forum?” How about “There is no God but God and Mohammed is his prophet?” There’s never a Satanist when you need one.
They think something vital is missing from their life if they can’t mark public property with a permanent display of their christian faith. Of course, if challenged legally, they will claim it’s just “ceremonial deism”, and the US Supreme Court will accept that excuse. At the same time when they are posturing to each other about being better, more devout christians, they are pretending to everyone else that their display is so insignificant that it could not possibly cause anyone to worry about equal treatment before a christian-dominionist government.
Flaming assholes. If the display is without significant religious implication, and is merely ceremonial, then why on Earth do they suddenly feel the need to display that motto? Why add it now? Why aren’t the existing building walls good enough as is? If they think the building could use a little sprucing up, why not a mural by a local artist? No, that wouldn’t have the desired effect of disenfranchising the non-christians.
Five SC Justices are certainly on the list with the rest of the assholes.
Yeah, sure thing.
hotshoe, I’m with you re: flaming assholes. However, you might want to quote someone who’s currently on the court (O’Connor is retired). With that in mind, raise the flames higher!
This has been your daily dose of Scalia. Please don’t sue me for blood pressure issues.
[For clarity, I’ll note that Scalia is an enormous fan of “ceremonial deism”, though not directly referenced in the quote there. Now get your blood pressure checked. Seriously.]
Of course we have a national sock! Only it got lost in the national laundry.
@7: They think something vital is missing from their life if they can’t mark public property…. [emphasis mine]
You mean the way dogs and unfixed tom-cats do it, right? It’s a territoriality display.
Anytime someone says we should honor Jesus’s dad in government because the “founding fathers” did it, they’ve automatically spoken in support of slavery.
As for the answer to the post title question, I would assume the unofficial national fruit is the apple. Things can’t be “As American as apple pie” without apples to make* the pie. But…yeah, doesn’t mean having a motto is necessary, and certainly not that motto.
* How, I wonder, does inventing the universe fit into this?
@ ^ Leo : What about pumpkin as the national fruit – sure its usually considered a vegetable but got a feeling its one of those one’s that are botanically technically classed differently to popular conception. Also America is famous for Pumpkin pie and Halloween and think pumpkin was originally from there and cultivated by various Amerindian groups yeah? (Could be mistaken tho’) Plus pumpkin just looks really cool and impressive and if there was ever a superpower of fruits in size and mass of edible material it’d have to be the pumpkin wouldn’t it? (Think about it is even bigger than a coconut usually. Guess some of the various melons may give it a run for its money but still.)
Also if there isn’t a national fruit then why not? (Okay, it is kinda pointless but that aside.)
PS. In the botanically confusing category I’m going to suggest the national vegetable be designed the peanut which technically is a legume / bean. Or is that techniclaly a type of fruit too?