Are we really one nation under God?
“One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” We recite those words time and again as, facing the Stars and Stripes, with hand over heart, we pledge our souls and bodies to labor for the well being of this nation under God. Under God, we pledge to stand for the worth and dignity of human life, be a beacon light to the world community for peace, justice, liberty and freedom.
But do we live that way? The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that bigotry and injustice in this nation under God are on the rise.
Are the everyday problems that face the average American on the top of this government’s to-do list?
The recent riots and public disturbances do not witness to a nation under God. One nation under God says that our abiding purpose is embodied in the very being of the creator God.
Government is the platform to ensure that, in the words of our forefathers, we enjoy the “Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” Does this government by word and deed witness to truth as God proclaims truth? Will this government measure up to God’s purposes?
President Trump would be well-guided by these words of President Franklin Roosevelt: “I never forget that I live in a house owned by all the American people and that I have been given their trust.”
Rev. Canon George I. Chassey
West Columbia
This story was originally published September 14, 2017 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Are we really one nation under God?."