[Right Wing Professor]

I don't think people would have as much of a problem with atheists if we didn't have off-the-wall atheists trying to change the basic foundations of our country. Trying to take God out of the Pledge was the end of the rope for many.

So before God was put into the pledge, did the country lack basic foundations?

[Brytani]

No of course not. However, before the word God was put into the pledge we also didn't have people removing God from the public square.

The fact is that vast majority of people in the US do not want to remove the God phrase from the pledge, and more than a few are insulted that anyone wants that.

[BMCDA]

I don't think people would have as much of a problem with atheists if we didn't have off-the-wall atheists trying to change the basic foundations of our country.

It's also been my observation that the number of off-the-wall atheists is somehow correlated with the number of off-the-wall theists (usually Christians). In countries with fewer in-your-face theists there are usually also fewer in-your-face atheists.
Of course, the situation is a bit different in places where the theists are more at-your-throat ;-)