For Immediate Release: September 28, 2007
STATEMENT FROM
IN GOD WE TRUST CHAIRMAN ON COLORADO STUDENT PROTESTS AGAINST PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
WASHINGTON, DC
- The Rt. Rev. Council Nedd, national chairman of the advocacy group In God We Trust today released the following statement
on the student protests at Boulder High School:
"The organized student boycott of the Pledge of Allegiance"
at Boulder High School yesterday was a ridiculous display of immaturity, ignorance and intolerance that should punished by
the school. In no way is hearing the words "under God" offensive as high school senior Emma Martens claims. In media
reports Miss Martens is quoted as saying, ‘We didn't think it was fair for the whole school to have to listen to
(the pledge). It's almost religious oppression.'
"The only thing offensive about this whole episode is
that children in Boulder High School are not being taught to respect their fellow students who believe in God or to appreciate
America's historical belief that our liberties come from a higher power and not from government. Under Colorado law if
students do not wish to recite the pledge they are not required to. Disrupting classes to stage a demonstration against the
Pledge of Allegiance should not be tolerated. Statements in the press attributed to Boulder High School Principal Bud Jenkins
praising the students for ‘standing up for their beliefs' are also disconcerting. Deliberately insulting and ridiculing
the beliefs of fellow students and faculty members and interrupting learning should result in disciplinary action and not
praise.
In God We Trust is a national political advocacy effort with nearly 50,000 supporters across the country. It
is organized as a special project of AHEAD, a non-profit organization that has been determined by the IRS to be tax-exempt
under the provisions of Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. In God We Trust is committed to providing an active
voice in opposition to the special interest groups dedicated to banning God, religion, and America's religious history
from public display and public discourse.
Bishop Nedd is a traditional Episcopal priest and serves as the Bishop of
the Chesapeake and Northeast for the Episcopal Missionary Church.
In God We Trust can be found on the Internet
at www.InGodWeTrustUSA.org
