On a late one evening at work during my bachelor days, I converse with a friend. We disagree on many issues, but we discuss the topics civilly. On this particular evening, we talk about the US currency. Here’s the issue, the first sentence in our first amendment outlines freedom of religion, specifically:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion
And much like zero is a number, freedom of religion must therefore include freedom of lack of religion. In other words, US citizens are equally free to practice agnosticism, atheism, polytheism, and just for completeness Satanism. If that is the case, doesn’t printing (or minting) the phrase “In God We Trust” on our currency, exclude the aforementioned groups? And if that’s the case, should we remove it?
However, this post will not discuss that phrase in our currency. The conversation turned late, and I wanted to leave for home. Instead of simply telling my friend that it’s late and need to leave, I turn to one of my favorite phrases with which to finish my conversations with him, “You treat me this way, after we built your railroads?“
Continue reading “A history lesson, 140 years in the making”