"In God We Trust" should be removed from US money.

[retrorich]

I believe that "In God We Trust" should be removed from US money. The word "we" in official US government documents, including money, should refer to ALL Americans, not just the majority of Americans. Americans are free to believe in God if they wish, but there is no need to advertise their belief on our money.

 

[Ardhanariswar]

good thought. but its too much of a pain. yes im lazy. i think it was to stir the conscience of pimps, drug dealers, and prostitues before they handle money, but eh, its not working. it would take years to change, ack. personally, just live with it, its not going to kill you, alright?

 

[retrorich]

good thought. but its too much of a pain. yes im lazy. i think it was to stir the conscience of pimps, drug dealers, and prostitues before they handle money, but eh, its not working. it would take years to change, ack. personally, just live with it, its not going to kill you, alright?

I don't think "In God We Trust" was placed on US money to stir anyone's conscience. Rather, I think it was (and still is) more of a "holier than thou" ego trip for believers in God that insinuates that people who do not believe in God are something less than good citizens.

I agree that the motto is not going to kill me, but it does annoy me. There is no need for religious statements to be on our money. It is just free advertising promoting belief in God in a country which is supposed to damand separation of church and state.

 

[Ceridwen018]

In all truth, it kinda irks me too, but only when I'm in an irkable mood. If I ever become president, I'll work to change it, but until then.....

 

[retrorich]

In all truth, it kinda irks me too, but only when I'm in an irkable mood. If I ever become president, I'll work to change it, but until then.....

You can count on my vote. You are certain to be better than George Bush.

 

[Sunstone]

You can count on my vote. You are certain to be better than George Bush.

Huh? Do you mean to imply that it is actually possible for someone to be a better president than George Bush???!! I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you! *quickly recovers*

The trouble with politics, Retrorich, is that people as good as you or Ceridwen don't often run for office in this country. So, we get stuck with the likes of George Bush, etc.

As for "In God We Trust" on the money, it doesn't really upset me, but I sometimes regret that it's there, because it's tacky. Tacky. TACKY.

 

[Scott1]

I agree retrorich..... faith has no place in a formal government document....

BTW........ Ceridwen, you now have 2 votes!

Scott

 

[Hirohito18200]

Don't you think that the words on the bills help stress that this nation was founded on the principle that we are held accountable to a higher standard than our own? I don't think that this can be all bad. and how bout "In Faith We Trust" or something, cause that would include athiests, satanists, pagans, and christians in the same happy family.

 

[civilcynic]

I don't particularly care for it but it would probably be one of those devisive issues to try to remove it and I think we have enough devisiveness right now without throwing that into the mix.

Besides it could be worse...the quote could read "In politicians we trust"!

 

[Feathers in Hair]

BTW........ Ceridwen, you now have 2 votes!

Make that 3! (Or are we up to 4 now?)

A very interesting topic... Maybe we should change it every year? Maybe do kind of a rotating thing through each religion? "In Goddess We Trust," "In Krishna We Trust," "In Satan We Trust"....

 

[retrorich]

I don't particularly care for it but it would probably be one of those devisive issues to try to remove it and I think we have enough devisiveness right now without throwing that into the mix.

Besides it could be worse...the quote could read "In politicians we trust"!

Good one, civilcynic!

 

[retrorich]

Make that 3! (Or are we up to 4 now?)

Is it too late to start a write-in campaign?

 

[Mr Spinkles]

I actually don't think it's a big deal....I say, just leave it. I kind of agree with what Hirohito said, and it is part of our tradition. I would not have put it there in the first place, but now that it is there, I don't see an urgency to remove it.

 

[Watcher]

Hey, you have my vote also! A friend of mine was just talking about this the other day, only it was about the pledge. He thinks it should go "one nation, under god or gods that may or may not exist"

 

[Pah]

"In God We Trust" is the government assuming it speaks for me. It is arrogant for the government to presume it can speak for me and more arrogant of the minority of Christians that fought for this change from "E Pluribus Unum" which is the real character of this nation

-pah-

 

[spont76]

Putting "In God We Trust" on our currency was a knee-jerk reaction during the McCarthy paranoia of the 1950s. Communists are godless, so we decided to differentiate ourselves by adding the phrase. The phrase "under god" was added to our Pledge around the same time, ironically enough between the words "one nation" and "indivisible", both of which are negated by that addition.

 

[Mathematician]

Putting "In God We Trust" on our currency was a knee-jerk reaction during the McCarthy paranoia of the 1950s. Communists are godless, so we decided to differentiate ourselves by adding the phrase. The phrase "under god" was added to our Pledge around the same time, ironically enough between the words "one nation" and "indivisible", both of which are negated by that addition.

Actually, I believe the "God on money thing" originated during the Civil War. http://www.treasury.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.shtml

I'm all for taking it off money, and I don't know why theists wouldn't be. You're wanting to represent God with greed?

I find it rather odd that I'm included in this "We". Last I checked I was a UU atheist, but here I am pulling out my five doller bill and it says I do believe in God! Oh, the confusion! Between this and acknowledging there is actually a God that our country presides under, I sometimes go crazy trying to determine what my religious beliefs are.

 

[spont76]

I guess you didn't read the whole page GeneCosta, and I should have been more clear in my post. Our National motto was changed to "In God We Trust" and placed on ALL currency in 1957. Yes, it started during the Civil War on some coins. But it was anti-communism paranoia that changed our motto and put it on ALL currency.

 

[lasthope]

I am sorry if this comes off as being harsh. I know that there will be a lot of comments made about what I am going to say here. So, therefore, I will post this comment and not look at it again until my curiosity gets the best of me. I will get responses that are so far fetched that I won't know how to respond. Because I know that you folks out there who love to argue will eat this up. Not only the folks who love to argue, but also the ones who post a comment on almost every thread just to prove that they are omnipresent. Not being an intellectual or a person who quotes or references web pages, I think you should all just deal with it and get over it. If you live in this country and use the American dollar as way of living, then you have no justifiable arguement. Do your job, earn our paycheck, and cash it in for money that is marked "In God We Trust". Otherwise, quit your job, stop earning your money and get the he** out of our country. If it urks you that much, then don't deal with it anymore. Protest, boycott, picket line the U.S. mint. Do whatever you have to do, but quit using the U.S dollar. Its hypocrisy to complain about this and still use it as a way of living day in and day out. For the most part, people just put up with it. They earn it and spend it with no thought to what is written on it. But for you select folks who just can't stand it, don't use it. If you are so strong in your convictions, then don't use it!!! It wouldn't matter if it said " In Lucifer We Trust". You would still earn it and spend it the same way. But you would still whine about it.

 

[ProudWiccan]

I agree with part of your sentiment, lasthope. I find it amazing that people can so vehemently protest something (such as "In God We Trust" on money) and then continue to use it. However, to suggest that people give up on money is unrealistic. Even protestors need to eat, and that requires money. In principle, yes they should give up using money if they are so angry about what is printed on it. However, it is not feasible.

Back to the point of the original post, I don't see why having "In God We Trust" on currency is such a problem. It harkens back to the foundations of this nation, by the Diests who fought for our soveriegnty. Even the Declaration of Independence contains a reference to a higher power, "endowed by their creator." The phrase is more of a reference to historical beliefs than to the religious beliefs of each and every American.