Ron’s Blog

God visits our public school

Our neighborhood public school here in Troy NY where Oz now goes to kindergarten has an assembly every Monday and Friday morning to which parents are invited. Along with maybe a couple of dozen other parents, I sometimes go. Songs, awards, announcements — you know.

But they also do little sketches and presentations, and the one on Monday (which the wife and I both went to, as it turns out) had a little visit from “Uncle Sam”. Troy prides itself as the “home of Uncle Sam” (but see The Straight Dope for some skepticism about that) and some guy who has a little business dressing up as Uncle Sam and doing a little history chat for kids came in and did his thing.

And his thing was to mention God whenever he could. He mentioned the Declaration of Independence’s “endowed by their creator” line, then repeated it in various permutations replacing Jefferson’s well-chosen “creator” with “God”; and he went on about “In God we Trust” as the nation’s motto. Now, as a history lesson, this is pretty much lying: “In God we Trust” became a national motto (in addition to E pluribus unum — “Of many, one” — which still is and has always been a national motto) in the 1950’s about the same time “under God” was inserted into the pledge to show how we we’re God’s chosen nation, unlike them Russkie Commies who were trying to take over the world in the name of Marx and Stalin. And it wasn’t even put on the paper money until the 1950s either, although it was first put on coins during the Civil War, when (as part of one of many efforts to have the U.S. declare itself a “Christian Nation”), Congress passed a law allowing it on the money “space permitting”.)

So, in consultation with the wife, I’m going to write a little note to the principal, to be dropped off when I go to the Friday assembly. I’ll be nice, and not assume she knew what bullshit this was up front; maybe if I get out in front of this, maybe she’ll worry ahead of time about whether Oz’s asshole dad is going to fuss about something. Better that she censor up front than that I have to confront her after God bullshit has been sprayed on the kids.

More later, I suppose.