Call Me Conservative
E pluribus unum
Thirteen letters. Thirteen colonies.
Before it was changed in 1956 E pluribus unum was the motto of the United States. It means: Out of many, one.
Many colonies, one nation.
Many people, one nation.
Makes sense. How very...what's the word?
American!
Our motto is now, "In God We Trust."
Hmm...
Not so much.
E pluribus unum!
-Happy Independence Day-
Thirteen letters. Thirteen colonies.
Before it was changed in 1956 E pluribus unum was the motto of the United States. It means: Out of many, one.
Many colonies, one nation.
Many people, one nation.
Makes sense. How very...what's the word?
American!
Our motto is now, "In God We Trust."
Hmm...
Not so much.
E pluribus unum!
-Happy Independence Day-
posted by Adam at 4:33 PM
18 Comments:
I prefer the original, as well. I'm a spiritual person and believe in a God, but it doesn't belong in our government in any fashion.
I still like the Native American motto: "Whitey sucks Eagle Cock".
I second the motion!
Yup! Out of many, One. It's what it was supposed to be about. People like to forget that.
Today's motto on many lips would be:
"Be Like Me or I'll Kill You."
That can be a motto in the old Soviet Union or under the Taliban, but I'll never let that be true here.
Funny how the people who believe that motto don't notice those similarities.
I never even knew what it stood for. Granted I didn't take Latin but I do like the sentiment better than "In God We Trust".
Hm...can't we just change it back?
Wow, the original certainly seems more accurate! And Rey, you funny!
Happy 4th to you Adam!
Happy Fourth of July!!!
Excellent post Adam... and I agree with you 100% - hope you guys have a fantastic 4th!
Good point Adam...one I wouldn't have thought of...Maybe we should tell the president to take God out and put in the one you mentioned...Oh wait that would be like asking him to take God out of politics.
The original is so much more important today, with all the horrible partisanship splitting our country into tiny groups.
That is a great motto of inclusion and unity. It even can apply to those of different religions and beliefs. So I don't see why it would be a big deal to go back to our nations 1st motto. Everyone knows that the original is usually better than the sequel :)
Hmmm... I wonder if G.W. change it? We all know how he likes to change what our founding fathers wrote.
Happy Fourth from the land of serpents and scorpions!
Out of many we become one.
I love belonging here.
Happy Fourth, Adam. I like the original better as well. More classy.
Given the overall spiritual climate in our country (the USA) ... I'm quite surprised we haven't changed the motto years ago to something much more appropos:
"Greed is good."
Personally, I like the trusting in God idea a bit better. For me, "E pluribus unum" doesn't really have the same ring to it.
I'm sorry Seeker but trusting in god doesn't do it for me simply because its assuming that everyone in this nation sincerely believes in a god, which is a ridiculous assumption. I don't believe in god and many other citizens don't either so how can that motto truly be representative of the people? Its myopic.
I prefer the original motto for is secularity and its inclusive connotation, that we are one nation of many. Why single out only those who believe in god when you could have a motto that includes everyone?
The interesting thing about our nation is, that by virtue of being a "democracy" (or representative republic, if one wants to be more accurate) is that in theory, the will of the people is sovereign.
In the case of the motto changes, the constituted government felt that the "godly" motto was a better expression of a then-common faith we Americans tend to view God with.
Even now, I'd say that the majority of Americans acknowledge God in some form or fashion, be it as "The One true Judeo-Christian God" or Buddha, Allah, or even an impersonal Force.
While it could be argued that atheism is a form of religion in its own right, and that more people define themselves as athiests than 60 years ago... the demographic of faith in the USA still leans toward some (if not possibly corrupted or watered down - depending upon one's particular interpretation) form of faith.
Objectively, faith has very little place in the mechanics of government, other than to invoke the "blessings of Providence" (if one follows the quasi-unitarian/universalist formula of the Founding Fathers) upon those who govern and legislate.
But as it stands, the need for total inclusivity should not be outweighed by the timeless principles of democratic government which allow for policy as an expression of the will of the people.
Now should the people choose to restore the completely secular meaning of the original motto, then so be it... but in the meantime, with such a diversity of faiths that we are allowed to enjoy in America, it would be remiss to toss it aside for the sake of the minority view.
Naturally, the enlightened republic will also take into account that minority, and ideally legislate in a manner that also protects them from undue duress for thier divergent viewpoint.
Although the will of the people may be sovereign,there are and should be checks and balances.Tyranny by a majority can be quite dangerous.With just a bit more popular support,slavery might still exist here in the good ole USA.
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