In God WeTrust

[flama]

That's probably a pretty lame subject. In fact, I think it's a horribly lame subject. Humor me, please.

A couple of Fridays ago, I went with my larger half to his award banquet for work. Anything for a free meal, right? Well, we're not going next year.

As always, the owner of the company started the proceedings with the Pledge of Allegiance. As I have done all my life, I did not recite the "under God" part. (I was 8 when they added that part and knew better even then.) I hesitated reciting any of it at all considering the agenda of one country, under Bush, with liberty and justice for none. My mouth moved for the rest of the Pledge, but I defy anyone to say that they heard me.

The owner then went into a lengthy prayer, which is his wont. I shuffled my feet and scratched where it itched and ignored his request to God for whatever he wished.

That's just the latest. It wasn't much, but it meant something to me.

"In God We Trust" is engraved on all U.S. currency. Why? Probably because we don't have the nuts to back it up. Our money used to be backed with gold or silver. Now it's in the hands of God.

I'm afraid now. The religious right has succeeded in backing our currency with their God? What if I don't believe in their God? What if I don't believe in their philosophy? Does that mean my hard-earned money is useless? Probably.

Sure, I can buy less and less with more and more of my paycheck (when I can get one). Most of it is made in China. (Which China?) And what's God got to do with it? (Strains of "What's Love Got to Do With It" are running through my head.)

Please excuse my rantings. I'm feeling like defacing currency again. Please make me stop - or not.

[trof]

1. "All others pay cash."

And then there's
Jesus Saves
Moses invests

[greatauntoftriplets]

3. LOL, trof!

My father worked for an auto parts dealership for many years. He sold to commercial customers, but occasionally had to work in the store -- which he hated. The owner had a sign stuck up in back:

IN GOD WE TRUST
ALL OTHERS PAY CASH

I though that was hysterically funny as a young kid.

[scarlet_owl]

5. "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash" was also a book

by Jean Shepherd. It contains the famous "Christmas Story". You'll shoot your eye out! Edited for spelling error.

[trof]

10. Great and funny book.

I miss Jean Shepherd.

[flama]

12. I'll have to hunt for that book

Thanks for the info, owl! I loved Jean Shepherd.

[flama]

11. LOL, trof!

I can see those phrases as signs in business establishments and on T-shirts across the world. Heck, I'd even wear one!

[Nikia]

2. Hasn't it always said that?

I thought that U.S. money always had that engraved on it. Even if it didn't, it is not a recent development of the religious right. I'm not sure if you are atheist or some other religion. I suppose that it must be hard to be bombarded by this, but I generally am not bothered by traditions like this that I don't agree with. The same can be said with the man's prayer at the banquet. I've been amongst people of other religions and have never been offended although there is a bit of awkwardness when they've assumed that I was of that religion too especially when it involved particapatory rituals that I was unfamiliar with.

[carpetbagger]

4. Not always, but for a long time.

It was a small victory of one of the previous school-voucher-God-and-country movements. It ended up on paper currency during the Civil War, and on coinage in the early part of the 20th century.

[flama]

13. I'm old,

but I'm not THAT old. Guess our money's been in the hands of God since long before I was born. ;-)

Who'da thunk this rant would have sparked an educational response?

[alwynsw]

6. Make peace with your God...

...whatever you perceive Him to be - hairy thunderer or cosmic muffin. (credit: National Lampoon's "Radio Dinner)

No gender bias on my part, just a direct quote.

In short, I understand your issues with 'In God We trust", but why minimize or demean any prayer that another offers. Last I checked, all religions have prayer. If you happen to be an agnostic, why tempt what might exist? If you're atheist, what does it matter? In the eyes of an atheist, prayer is simply a waste of time.

[flama]

14. Oh, Mighty Cosmic Muffin,

please let not George waste my time with his long, involved, economically insired prayers.

George, in this case, refers to the company owner and not the squatter at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. To be sure, he has the right to his beliefs. We all do. Even me. But his prayers run rather long, as did most of the speeches that night. I suppose it's hard to write a short prayer when it has to serve double duty as Grace and a benediction of sorts.

One of Theodore Sturgeon's laws says that 90 percent of everything is crap. (I think he really said shit.) Sturgeon was a wise fellow. I could have lived with 10 percent of that prayer and 10 percent of each of the speeches.

BTW, you didn't really have to read more than 10 percent of my post.

:+

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

7. "In God We Trust. All others pay cash"...

is also the motto of the University of Okoboji, in Okoboji, Iowa.
Lovely little town. Magnificent lakes.

(There is no U of O.)

[rbnyc]

8. LOL, your "larger half"

Does he read DU?

I think that was a great rant. I remember when I was living out in arizona I heard that cops had scanners that could read the magnetic strips inside bills. That way they could pull you over if you had a suspiciously big wad of cash. So I would go to night clubs, ask people to let me see their 20s, pull out the strip and eat it hoping to be arrested for no reason later that night.

It never happened.

;-)

[flama]

15. Alas, my darling daughter,

Furry Murray doesn't read DU. He spends most of his online time at eBay looking at cars.

He's a card-carrying Republican. I'm not preaching at him, but am introducing him to information that's shaking his beliefs. "Bowling for Columbine" got him thinking in the right direction - left.
Governor Terminator got him thinking, too. (I hope all this brain activity doesn't give him headaches.)

You ate what? No wonder your digestive system got worse instead of better.

What's up with cops in Arizona looking for people with huge wads of cash?

Uh-oh. Brain going into neutral and stomach going into overdrive. Time to go lie down and figure out if I'm coming down with the flu.

See ya . . . .

:loveya:

Ma

[no_hypocrisy]

9. Here's one from my childhood: Jesus saves, but Moses invests.

n/t