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From Mark's Desk: One Nation Under God Much has recently been reported about the United States Supreme Court’s consideration of our reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Reciting the Pledge in California public schools is alleged by Michael Newdow, an atheist, to violate the United States Constitution. I disagree, and I believe the Court will, too. While we await the Court’s ruling, which will be handed down later this year, many of you have wondered whether Tennessee public school students could be prohibited from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as a result of this litigation. I am proud to have sponsored the Tennessee law which mandates that our children not only learn, but recite, the Pledge of Allegiance in school each day. It is an important part of our civic heritage and patriotic duty. For many, it speaks to our religious heritage as well. TCA Sec. 49-6-101 requires all public school teachers to instruct their pupils and have them study the purposes and methods of displaying the American Flag as well as the history and usage of the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. As amended, the law requires recitation and also encourages the presence of a flag in each classroom. Students or teachers who object to participating in this important exercise on religious, philosophical or other grounds are exempt. In anticipation of the type of judicial attack mounted by California’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals which ruled against recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, we requested an opinion from the Tennessee Attorney General who agreed we are on solid ground. I recently reflected upon the significance of this law while attending a meeting of the PTA at Collierville Elementary School. I saw it in action. Several hundred students, their parents, teachers and I, were present to witness a Marine Corps Sergeant, just home from Iraq, present the student body with the American Flag his battalion had flown while in combat. The students at Collierville Elementary had corresponded with him while he was at war, and he returned to thank them for their encouragement and support during that difficult time. We stood together in the school gymnasium and recited a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance that night. The Sergeant was nearly moved to tears. So were the rest of us. I thought about those who would deny us our freedom, our history and our hope for future generations of young Americans instilled with a sense of patriotic purpose and pride. What if the Michael Newdows of this world win? Could we still share what we experienced together that night? Would our children ever be able to understand the full significance of what those stars and stripes truly mean? The students of Collierville Elementary came to a better understanding that night. As a state lawmaker who helped strengthen the law which made that moment possible, I thank God for the opportunity to have done so. |
