Posted on 09/12/2002 3:27:15 AM PDT by chance33_98
Opponent of Pledge of Allegiance Speaks, Sings at UC Berkeley Students Challenged to Question Societal Norms
By KIM-MAI CUTLER Contributing Writer Thursday, September 12, 2002
Michael Newdow, who accused the Pledge of Allegiance of being unconstitutional, sang to UC Berkeley students Tuesday night about church, government and gender-neutral pronouns.
Speaking and singing on behalf of the organization Students for A Nonreligious Ethos, Newdow told students to question and challenge societal norms.
Michael Newdow
He asked students to examine all ideas and beliefs, not only in religions but also in classrooms and scientific research.
"Challenge people constantly," Newdow said. "People just believe stuff without knowing all the details. When you get your professors, question them. Just because one billion people say something doesn't make it right."
Four years ago, Newdow, a physician, sued the Sacramento school district where his daughter went to school for requiring students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
The suit alleges that the pledge's "under God" phrase is unconstitutional.
Newdow said his case was not based upon religious differences but rather upon the separation of church and state.
"This is not a case about God and not God," Newdow said. "This is a case about the establishment clause."
The establishment clause is the part of the First Amendment that says government cannot make a law "respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Newdow said he is confident in the progress on his case.
Newdow also performed five songs, criticizing politicians for hypocrisy in supporting the current form of the pledge.
"We know when doing battle, in all the different fights," Newdow sang. "One can't be burdened with reminders of the Bill of Rights. With Him there on our side, there ain't no way we'll ever lose. They had the Pledge-of-Allegiance-needs-some-old-religion blues."
Newdow also described future goals he hopes to attain. He is involved in a lawsuit that would prevent chaplains from performing services in Congress.
He said he hopes to add a gender-neutral pronoun to the English language. Instead of using "he" and "she," Newdow encouraged students to use "ree," "rees" and "erm" in place of "he," "his" and "him" or "she," "hers" and "her."
Newdow was well-received by the nearly full Chan Shun Auditorium in Valley Life Sciences Building.
"I definitely agree with everything he said," said UC Berkeley freshman Adam Mann. "(But) I still believe he's going to lose (the lawsuit). "This is America and we believe in God very highly above most other things."
Other students said the musical portion compromised the lecture's more serious messages.
"He downplayed (his point) a bit," said UC Berkeley freshman Lyric Delire. "He made a mockery of it with the guitar-playing. It was good comic relief, but it made him seem less mature."
News of the pledge case broke during the summer when a federal appeals court ruled the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional, saying the words "under God" make it an "endorsement of religion."
An outraged U.S. Senate responded to the ruling by passing a resolution, 99-0, in support of the current pledge. The court then decided to reconsider its ruling.
In 1954, Congress added the words "under God" to the pledge during the height of Cold War anxieties about communism.
Pencilneck
I believe that a case may be made for a connection between liberalism and masochism, on several levels.
At its most basic level this link manifests itself in what would seem to be a burning desire on the part of liberals to offend common sense and decency to such an egregious degree that a member of their long-suffering audience will finally come boiling up out of their seat and use them for a punching bag.
Unfortunately normal people have become too complacent to accommodate liberals in this noble goal. (With the result that these room-temperature IQ morons are routinely able to advocate lunacy such as the drivel above.)
Even a freshman at Berkeley can see right through him and can tell he is a national joke.
I'm SHOCKED!
"Challenge people constantly," Newdow said. "People just believe stuff without knowing all the details. When you get your professors, question them."
. . .
"I definitely agree with everything he said," said UC Berkeley freshman Adam Mann.
Young Mr. Mann is obviously a quick study when it comes to the Berkeley model of critical, independent thought.
(/sarcasm)
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