What's the big deal?
So, what is this website about? Why so much effort just because of the word God on paper currency? After all, the money spends the same, right?
That's not the issue. Yes, if it was only an innocuous phrase on money, I wouldn't object to it. However, that phrase represents a trend in the US of bigotry towards those citizens who don't have any belief in gods. It is even offensive to many that do. In short, there is about 14.1% of the population who "In God We Trust" does NOT represent. That little phrase is far from innocuous. It is divisive, and it is meant to be divisive.
Originally, the national motto was "E Pluribus Unum", which means "From Many, One". The purpose of this motto is to highlight the fact that this country is made up of a diverse population. Unlike some other countries, we work against discrimination by race, gender, and age. We also work against discrimination based on religion. That national motto is a powerful statement of who we are, a nation that accepts individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Unfortunately, we haven't always been that good about expressing those ideals. We've had shameful periods of discrimination, chauvinism, and bigotry. One such time was the McCarthy era, the post World War II time of communist and atheist paranoia. That period of fear led to the inclusion of "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God We Trust" as our national motto. Those two acts had the effect of making non-religious people second-class citizens, as is evidenced by George H. W. Bush's statement that he doesn't consider atheists to be citizens nor patriots.
In the Pledge of Allegiance, in the middle of the phrase that states that this is a nation "undivided", was placed the words "Under God" which excludes a good portion of the population. And instead of that unifying statement saying how this is a country that is many made one, our the national motto "In God We Trust" was created and placed on all currency, excluding 14.1% of the population.
Please join me in restoring the United States to a country that accepts all of its citizens as equals. Modify your bills in protest, replacing "God", which is divisive, to "Reason", which is sorely needed in this country. If you've found such a bill, comment here in the blog or by e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you.