A couple of weeks ago, Springfield (Missouri) City Council member Justin Burnett (below) proposed a resolution to put the words “In God We Trust” in city hall. Making this awful idea even worse was his admission that it had “nothing whatsoever to do with the establishment of religion.”
Sure…
But what else did you expect from someone whose schooling involved the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum?
Last night, at a city council meeting, faced with a lot of opposition, the council voted to table the motion for now:
Monday night, Council [member] Mike Schilling made the motion to table the issue so it could be sent to a committee and allow council members time to consult with legal advisors. The majority of members agreed and voted that way…
…
One person against the proposal is Mayor Bob Stephens, who instead proposed adding the Latin phrase ‘Er [sic] Pluribus Unum, which translates into ‘Out of many, one,’ which is the original, unofficial motto of the U.S. ‘In God We Trust’ became the nation’s official motto in 1956 after action by Congress. That move came during the Cold War as a way differentiate the United States from the more-secular Soviet Union. The phrase began appearing on U.S. paper currency in 1957.
Several opponents of Burnett’s ‘In God We Trust’ proposal said they would be supportive of Stephens’s proposal, since it did not contain a reference to religion.
Wow — Nicely done, Springfield! Credit to everyone who showed up at that meeting to be the voices of reason. For what it’s worth, I would be fine with putting up “E Pluribus Unum” instead. It’s much better than a phrase pushing God on everyone else. But that proposal was also tabled for the time-being.
Cue the tears from Burnett. Jesus must be so disappointed with him…
(Thanks to Brian for the link)