WASHINGTON (EWTN News)—The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a resolution reaffirming the United States’ official motto: “In God We Trust.”
The non-binding resolution, introduced by Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-Va., passed by a vote of 396 to 9. It encourages the motto’s public display “in all public buildings, public schools and other government institutions.”
“Today, as in other times of division and difficulty in our nation’s history, the House of Representatives again reaffirmed ‘In God We Trust’ as our official motto and, in so doing, provided clarity amidst a cloud of confusion about our nation’s spiritual heritage and offered inspiration to an American people that face challenges of historic proportion,” Forbes said Nov. 1.
The resolution said the sentiment behind the motto has been “an integral part” of American society since the United States’ founding. In times of national challenge or tragedy, it said, “the people of the United States have turned to God as their source for sustenance, protection, wisdom, strength and direction.”
Forbes, founder and co-chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Prayer Caucus, said there has been “a growing, disturbing pattern of inaccuracy and omissions regarding the motto.”
Forbes’ office cited President Barack Obama’s November 2010 speech in which he incorrectly said that “E pluribus unum” was the national motto.
Another example cited as part of the pattern is the half-billion-dollar Capitol Visitor Center, which “sanitized” the Capitol Building of any references to the national motto. In its replica of the House Chamber, it replaced the inscription of “In God We Trust” above the Speaker’s Rostrum with stars. It also cropped an actual picture of the chamber so the national motto could not be seen.
Despite the massive support for the resolution, President Obama criticized it in a Nov. 2 speech advocating the passage of jobs legislation.
“I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work,” he said. He suggested that the legislation and other actions by House Speaker John Boehner is “not putting people back to work.”
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Seems good to me. I do find it amusing that this would be attacked because “it’s not putting people back to work”. If I recall, the various executive thingies requiring insurance to cover contraception and the like aren’t putting people back to work either.
More sock puppet theater from the corrupt political elite… blind, haughty and loathsome hypocrites that hate the poor and our Lord.
There was some very good info in this article as well as a couple of omissions: the name and political party of each of the nine who voted against the resolution and the name and political party of each of the thirty who did not vote at all.
www.rpconradio.com
There was a movement to put “In God we trust” on coins and currency back in the days of Teddy Roosevelt. TR said something like this: Such words should be spoken only with the utmost gravity and reverence. To put them on items of common use, such as money, only cheapens and degrades them.
In any case, what was accomplished by such a time-wasting vote by the House of Representatives?
Fr. Basil:
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Such words should be spoken with the utmost gravity and reverence, but I am not convinced that this means not putting them on common items or also saying them at common times. What we are immersed in as common affects our interior, simply because of the way we work. It’s analogous to how a beautiful church building can inspire a feeling of reverence, despite the fact that a concrete cube is, functionally, just as good - we should be just as reverent in a Mass in said cube, but being surrounded by things that reference God draws the mind to God and makes it more automatic. If all mention of God vanishes except in the most grave and reverent situations, then when the grave situations occur, our first thought is unlikely to be to go to God. The common influences are response to the uncommon.
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The vote is an affirmation that this one common reminder of how we should orient ourselves is good and should stay. Considering the progress of secularization, I think we need as many of those as we can get.
I wonder who the “Negative 9” are?
Jacob S -
Excellent response! I agree with you completely. Perhaps having this on currency does the service of reminding people that money is a tool, and it is in God we should trust!
Our great Country was founded on belief in God; how very fitting that our motto should be and remain “In God We Trust”!
In the old testament, when God chosen people turned against Him, He delivered them to their enemies, until in time of distress . They remembered God and knew that they had sinned against Him. They prayed and fast, praying for His forgiveness and intervention. He did. They prospered again. If we could do the similar. God is forever faithful. He was, he is and He will be.
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