Texas public schools have begun displaying posters with the national motto “In God We Trust” around their campuses – and some leftists are really angry about it.
A law, S.B. No. 797, was enacted by the Texas Legislature last year. This new statute governs the placement of the national motto for public elementary or secondary schools, and institutions of higher education.
The law states that these entities “must display in a conspicuous place in each building of the school or institution a durable poster or framed copy of the United States national motto, ‘In God We Trust,’ if the poster or framed copy meets” the following requirements:
- Is donated for display at the school or institution.
- Is purchased from private donations and made available to the school or institution.
In other words, if a private donor donates an “In God We Trust” poster to a public school, that school must display.
“We just felt like it was a great opportunity to display our national motto in our public schools,” said state Rep. Tom Oliverson, a co-author of the bill.
Jonathan Covey, Director of Policy at Texas Values, a Focus-allied Family Policy Council, told the Daily Citizen in a statement, “This is about reminding ourselves and our children that the First Amendment right to religious liberty is alive and well in our country.”
“Our freedom is what fundamentally separates us from regimes that restrict religion and oppress their citizens,” Covey added.
But some parents in Texas are upset about the bill.
Aly Fitzpatrick, a parent of a student in Cy-Fair, Texas schools, told KHOU11, “It’s a disgrace. These groups are hijacking our public education.”
“The point is we are America and not everyone does believe in the same God,” she said.
But it’s difficult to understand why anyone would be outraged about posters displayed in “conspicuous” places in public schools that acknowledge God.
A belief in and acknowledgements of God are interwoven into the fabric of American history and our nation’s identity.
One of our most important early national documents, the Declaration of Independence, references “the laws of nature and nature’s God.”
“In God We Trust” is printed or engraved on every single piece of U.S. currency.
And each morning, in every public schools around the nation, students stand with their hands over their hearts, and in the pledge of allegiance, state that we are “one nation, under God.”
It’s not like a poster reiterating our national motto is anything new or out of the ordinary.
In 1798, John Adams wrote a letter to the Massachusetts Militia, where he stated how important a belief in God is to our nation’s survival.
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People,” Adams wrote. “It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
On August 23, 1984, former President Ronald Reagan gave remarks at an ecumenical prayer breakfast in Dallas, Texas. With his remarkable and memorable wit, the president reiterated the significance of our national belief in God.
“If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
Photo from Shutterstock.
