Streetwise Streetwise (January 09, 2004)

Do you think the word "God" should be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance? Asked at Crossroads Shopping Center

Mike Fulford
Livermore
No, I don't think it should be taken out. Maybe we could add to the pledge. For example, say "... under God or other deity of your choice..."

Joelle Vanderbout
Amberwood Circle
No, that's what this country is founded on. We left other countries so we could have religious freedom.

Sarah Kim
San Ramon
No. As a Christian, I don't have an issue with the word being included, but I understand the atheists' point of view.

Willie Griffin
Johnson Drive
No, I grew up saying it. It (the word God) is a part of the Constitution and it's meant to represent something. They (the authors of the Constitution) used the best word they had and it referred to what they knew in their time. They wouldn't have wanted the word God to be taken out.

Patrick Hagler
Tracy
No. Legally anyone has the right to try to get the word God taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance. But I think God encompasses more than just a religious figure. It's also a spiritual feeling that isn't supposed to mean one set of people's beliefs; it's meant to mean something or someone bigger than ourselves.

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