Nostalgic patriotism

Is it possible to be nostalgic for something you've never experienced? Nostalgia's probably the wrong word. In any event, my recent habit of trolling reddit for interesting things lead me this morning to this post at PZ Meyers' "Pharyngula" blog (I just took a look at the main page, and MAN it's easy to get distracted there).

But the point is that I got my atheist dander up and I need to rant.

First, let's address the whole "In God we trust" thing. According to the US Treasury website, "The motto IN GOD WE TRUST was placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War." This is understandable. People often turn to belief in times of danger ("there are no atheists in foxholes" -- but please note, I don't mean to imply that fear is the only reason people have belief; simply that it can be a strong motivator for anyone on the fence).

The addition of the motto to paper money was almost a century later, shortly after the hatemongering McCarthy era* (see the same US Treasury page). This is pure speculation on my part, but I would guess that it was an effort to further draw the line between us and the "godless communists". My point is that although "In God we trust" is currently ingrained in our national identity (or at least our national fiscal identity), it hasn't always been that way.

In fact, the founding fathers, and our country's early days, were practically the opposite of what the Christian Right would have us believe. An article reposted at Skeptically.org goes into a good bit of detail (they attribute it to "Steven Morris, in Free Inquiry, Fall, 1995" -- but curiously, Free Inquiry's online archive lists contents for that issue but not that article) -- but the most significant to me is this gem:

"The Treaty of Tripoli, passed by the U.S. Senate in 1797, read in part: 'The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion.' The treaty was written during the Washington administration, and sent to the Senate during the Adams administration. It was read aloud to the Senate, and each Senator received a printed copy. This was the 339th time that a recorded vote was required by the Senate, but only the third time a vote was unanimous (the next time was to honor George Washington). There is no record of any debate or dissension on the treaty. It was reprinted in full in three newspapers - two in Philadelphia, one in New York City. There is no record of public outcry or complaint in subsequent editions of the papers."

UNANIMOUSLY approved.

Further reading, including detailed research into the treaty's intent, can be found at StephenJayGould.org.

The upshot of this is that I'm fiercely proud of my country's origins but disgusted by its current state. I guess I should start flying the original Star-Spangled Banner.

* Note: many of the pages I came across suggested that the motto on paper money was adopted "during the McCarthy era" -- but considering that McCarthy was censured by the senate in 1954 and died in office in '57, I wouldn't call that fair.