I BLEW IT!
Aw-right! So I blurted out the wrong answer!
We were watching a school-kids quiz show and the question was: “What is the national motto of the United States of America?”
I knew the answer right away, of course, but I was wrong.
What do you think it might be?
I said it as “E Pluribus Unim” - “from many, one” and I was crushed when the moderator informed the world I was mistaken. I looked it up and found I'm forty-eight years behind the times. On January 30, 1956 the law became effective which changed the motto from “E Pluribus Unim” to “In God We Trust” .
I knew, of course those words are on some of our coins and printed currency, but I did not know it had been made our national motto as well. It seems to me that lawmakers, in making this change were leaning a bit too far toward the area of wishful thinking. We are, in reality, formed from many into one” but in no sense do I see how we claim to be nation which places its full trust in God.
In today's street talk terms: “Let's get real, Ralph!”
We are said to be the most religious nation in the world and , at the most recent count, attest to the fact because most recent statistics show we have, I find we have over 2600 different religious faiths many of which are contending with some or all of the others.. Factions are fashionable; friction is urged, union is beyond the realm of reality. Trust is placed in many things other in God.
It is quite true that many of the early immigrants to these shores were seeking religious freedom and I would say they exhibited profound trust in God when they dared to cross the Atlantic ocean in such flimsy craft as they called ships. I question our so-called Founding Fathers attitude as they came along in time to form a government. We are, I feel, often too willing to be led to believe them to have been a bit more religious than they actually were. Rather, I think, they are shown to have had some rather strong views concerning the wisdom of keeping religious regulations and temporal laws separate.
It is rather easy to show how we are, indeed, one from many. The use of Latin may floor some people because that's been “out”of educational fashion''for some time. There are people who would oppose any slogan in other than English as being, in their view, un-American.
The Congress in 1956 worked a political miracle of a sort. In view of the fact that we did not not have a national motto of which they had officially approved, they agreed that the line “In God We Trust” was to be established as our official national motto but also that any citizen who wished to continue the use of “E Pluribus Unim” was free to do so.
In effect, the “chicken” side of both houses must have voted both ways. The one motto is official; the other is traditional. The use of either one is right, except only one is official.
It is no problem for me. I prefer the “E Pluribus Unim” and feel a bit unsure of the other. All of this does help me to see how it is that our Congress is often so slow and has difficulty maintaining a proper separation of church and state. They may be looking for a another chance to vote both ways at once.
A.L.M. February 9, 2003 [c601wds]
