Articles Index One Nation No Longer Under God
On 9/11, the 10th anniversary of one of the most horrific attacks this country ever suffered there will be no clergy or prayer allowed at the “Memorial” service.
On June 23, 2011 I released a four and half minute video “Gadi Adelman On God”. The video concentrated on the fact that during the PGA U.S. Open on television, NBC had played the “Pledge of allegiance” on two occasions; however both times it was played they edited out the words “under God”.
It seems to be more and more common these days in the U.S. for the word “God” or any reference to religion to be removed. Just this past June, American Thinker reported about a ban on the word God at military funerals,
The director of the Houston VA National Cemetery, Arleen Ocasio, has ordered the burial teams to instruct that religious references, as well as prayer, are no longer to be included as part of the burial services. Requests for messages or prayers can be formally submitted for her approval, but the mention of "God" is not allowed.
Ocasio has also ordered the closing of the cemetery chapel, which used to be available for grieving family and friends to gather and pray. The space is now used to conduct personnel meetings, and for storage.
It seems that we as a Nation have become some so politically correct that in order not to offend the non-believers we have actually made God a four letter word.
The Pew Research Center conducted an extensive nationwide survey in 2007 of more than 35,000 adults (age 18 and older) in the U.S. The Pew Forum's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey found that 83.1% of Americans believe in God and consider themselves to be affiliated with a religious group, while only 16.1% say they are unaffiliated .The other 0.8% either didn’t know or refused to answer.
I somehow doubt that those numbers have changed drastically over the last 4 years. I also doubt that the overwhelming majority of 83% of Americans are very pleased that the minority of 16% are able to dictate whether or not prayer or the word God should be allowed at certain venues.
There are some places where prayer or the word God are expected to be heard, you know, places of worship, funerals or memorial services. Maybe it’s just me, but I expect some type of spiritual reflection at a memorial service.
Yet, on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, at the site where the World Trade Center Towers once stood, the site of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, no clergy or prayers will be allowed and what’s more, no members of the 9/11 first responders will be allowed either. Thanks to the Mayor of NY, Michael Bloomberg.
The Examiner reported last Thursday,
Following New York City's announcement that 9/11 first responders will not be invited to the 10th anniversary ceremony, law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics, and other volunteers continue to voice their anger and disappointment. In addition, religious leaders in New York City are requesting Mayor Mike Bloomberg to rescind his ban and allow Catholic priests, Jewish rabbis and Protestant ministers a role in the ceremony at "Ground Zero."
The Wall Street Journal reported last Wednesday,
Religious leaders are calling on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to reverse course and offer clergy a role in the ceremony commemorating the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
City Hall officials, who are coordinating the ceremony, confirmed that spiritual leaders will not participate this year —just as has been the case during past events marking the anniversary.
Really? Then why Mr. Mayor are you so quick to speak up for religious freedom when discussing the Mosque at Ground Zero?
On August 6, during an interview on WOR NY radio while Mayor Bloomberg was once again promoting the Ground Zero Mosque. He stated,
“I just don't think the government should tell people where they can pray and where they can build houses of worship.”
“It is a shame that we even have to talk about this.”
I couldn’t agree more. It is a shame we even have to talk about this, “this” being that on the one hand you say “I just don't think the government should tell people where they can pray” and then you turn around 2 weeks later and say that there will be no clergy or prayer allowed at the 9/11 memorial service.
You can’t have it both ways Mr. Mayor.
I’m curious if Mayor Bloomberg is aware of Zorach v. Clauson. In 1952 this First Amendment case of school and prayer made it all the way to the Supreme Court. The school, ironically, was the New York Education system.
The longest-serving justice in the history of the Supreme Court, U.S. Justice William O. Douglas wrote in his decision a statement that has become very well known to say the least,
“We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.”
Further on he wrote,
“We guarantee the freedom to worship as one chooses. We make room for as wide a variety of beliefs and creeds as the spiritual needs of man deem necessary. We sponsor an attitude on the part of government that shows no partiality to any one group and that lets each flourish according to the zeal of its adherents and the appeal of its dogma.”
Looking at how political correctness is changing what is and is not allowed should we really be surprised that we are becoming a nation without God?
Rudy Washington, the former deputy mayor under Mayor Giuliani stated,
"This is America, and to have a memorial service where there's no prayer, this appears to be insanity to me."
Mr. Washington, who has suffered severe medical problems connected to the time he spent at Ground Zero, said that he felt “like America has lost its way."
Last Thursday evening on my radio show “America Akbar” I had a very interesting caller. George is a retired and disabled NY Firefighter who was at Ground Zero on the day of the attack like so many other NY Firefighters. George’s disability stems from the 3 weeks he spent at Ground Zero during the rescue efforts after the towers fell.
George was telling my listeners his feelings on the whole Bloomberg situation, the fact that no clergy, firefighters or EMS workers will be allowed at the ceremony due to “constraints on the number of people”. He said,
“I am personally not a person who believes in God. But I’ve got to say, there were tons of clergy there, all over the place, that were willing to just walk up to somebody, put their hand on their shoulder, to make them feel good, or take them to the side and talk with them and let them hear their confessions or pray with them or the ones that went into the pile to give last rights.”
“I think it is just another example, a disgusting display, because they want to politicize this whole thing that there’s no room for anyone to be there. I mean, they deserve to be there. There’s no reason for them not to be there. There’s no reason for anybody else to be there, it’s just horrible that they want to play this game and they just want to forget about everybody all of a sudden. What ever happened to “we will never forget”? They’ve obviously forgotten. They could care less.”
George continued with an idea,
“I think I’ve got a cure for this. I think what should happen is all the first responders take the day off, police, firefighters, everybody, I think anybody who was at that scene, clergy, they should get there churches behind it and everybody get in their car at least 2 hours before and just start driving all around Wall Street, all around the World Trade Center site and create the biggest traffic jam you can and then nobody can get there.”
Well before my radio show ended George created a Facebook page “911 Blockade and Protest”.
I don’t want to see a blockade of the 10th anniversary ceremonies, but I’d rather see a blockade then for the ceremony to happen without one member of the first responders or clergy there. If this blockade were to create any problems I don’t think the mainstream media would be able to ignore it, let alone the reason behind it.
No first responders, no clergy, no event. Personally I like the idea. I urge everyone to go to George’s Facebook page and join. If you live in or around NY get in your car that day and drive around the site and urge others to do it as well.
It’s one thing to argue that you don’t want “prayer or God” at an event because you don’t want to offend the minority of non-believers, but who are we offending by allowing the heroes of that day, the first responders to be there, the pyromaniacs?
Have we as a nation truly gotten to the point that we are “One Nation Under No God and With No Heroes”?
9/11 Is what happens when God isn't here to protect us.