Michael Newdow
Michael Newdow
Michael Arthur Newdowis an American attorney and emergency medicine physician. He is best known for his efforts to have recitations of the current version of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools in the United States declared unconstitutional because of its inclusion of the phrase "under God". He also filed and lost a lawsuit to stop the invocation prayer at President Bush's second inauguration and in 2009 he filed a lawsuit to prevent references to God and religion from being...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionLawyer
Date of Birth24 June 1953
CountryUnited States of America
one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
People don't simply wake up one day and commit genocide. They start by setting themselves apart from others, diminishing the stature of those adhering to dissenting beliefs in small, insidious steps. They begin by saying, 'We're the righteous, and we'll tolerate those others.' And as the toleration diminishes over time, the inevitable harms are overlooked. It is for that reason that James Madison wisely wrote that 'it is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties'.
Our churches are very strong in this nation and I think that's great and everybody should have the ability to worship as he or she sees fit.
It was never concluded and violated the Constitution, ... I think that is wrong - I'm happy that the idea is getting recognized and that a judge recognized that.
free from a coercive requirement to affirm God.
I don't ever talk about it, ... There are some Christians (co-workers) who argue I'm doing something bad, but this (lawsuit) is pro-liberty, pro-equality. The government is required to stay out of the religion business.
Imagine every morning if the teachers had the children stand up, place their hands over their hearts, and say, 'We are one nation that denies God exists,
Think of it as an Olympic event or a ball game: you practice first.
This is not supposed to be there. The government is supposed to stay out of the religion business.
This issue is whether or not our government should be infusing religion into (schools).
That is an actual, concrete, discrete, particularized, individualized harm to me, which gives me standing.
I tried out different openings, but most of them got torn to shreds. Some of them sounded great, then bombed big-time,
I think they'll agree. That is the ultimate goal to get the Pledge of Allegiance to be for all Americans.
I think that everybody would not be sitting here saying, 'Oh, what harm is that.' They'd be furious. And that's exactly what goes on against atheists. And it shouldn't.