by Rusty Pugh and Jody Brown
A veterans group in Arkansas is taking a message of patriotism to school children in that state — and a pro-family group's national campaign to put the national motto “In God We Trust” in the nation's schools and other public facilities continues to snowball.
Burnis Posey is chairman of the Americanism Committee of the local American Legion post in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Posey realized that Mississippi had mandated the posting of the national motto in schools, and wanted the same for Arkansas. He decided the best way to get “In God We Trust” into schools was not just by placing posters, but by presenting an entire patriotic program to students.
Posey says students and faculty are patriotic, and just need a chance to show it. “[Since the terrorist attacks occurred] on September 11, the patriotic response in this country has been unbelievable,” Posey says. “That just didn't happen overnight — that has always been there. [But] that event simply brought [patriotism] to the forefront … and following up with this is a way that they just further that. It very much surprised me as to how effective this is and how well received it is.”
Posey says students need to know that America was founded on biblical principles, and that patriotism goes hand in hand with belief in God. “You cannot teach American history without teaching our Godly heritage,” he says. “That's something I learned in the process of doing the research [for the patriotic program].”
He cites one example he uncovered in his research. “There was a study done of over 15,000 items that our founding fathers wrote about and talked about, and 94% of them were derived from the Bible,” he says.
Along with the patriotic program, “In God We Trust” posters are also hung in the schools. According to Posey, the response has been overwhelming — and so far, there has been no opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union. In fact, Posey says one ACLU representative was quoted as saying the group could do nothing to stop the program because it is constitutionally sound.
Campaign Succeeding
Meanwhile, an increasing number of communities and school boards around America are voting to display the national motto. Associated Press reports that communities in two Midwest states decided this week to display “In God We Trust.” The city council of Troy, Michigan, voted to display plaques bearing the motto in all new municipal buildings — and the school board in Danville, Indiana, elected to post the motto in all of its public school classrooms, cafeterias, and auditoriums.
AP also reports that officials in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a Detroit suburb, voted last week to place the motto in all city buildings, and that officials in nearby Rochester Hills will soon consider a similar measure.
The increased interest in posting “In God We Trust” is apparently the result of a campaign started last summer by the Mississippi-based American Family Association to get the motto into every public classroom in the U.S. The pro-family group — which saw its home state be the first to require the display of the motto in all public classrooms, auditoriums, and cafeterias — reports it has since distributed more than a quarter-million of its “In God We Trust” posters nationwide.
Click here for information on ordering the “In God We Trust” posters.
(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)
