Op-ed:
A
Misguided Re-Dedication
By:
Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor
The article is the authors opinion alone, and does not
necessarily represent the views of blogspot.com
or Google
Let
me start by saying that while I am a die-hard Republican, I am a
Constitutional Republican not a Conservative Republican. And while I
do agree with a number of key conservative issues I do disagree with
others, because for me the Constitution not the Holy Bible is the
law of our land, and must remain so. And with that belief comes the
all important “separation of church and state,” the very
thing our “Founders and Framers” ever so wisely wanted as
seen in the wording of the First Amendment, the very amendment giving
us “freedom of religion”...as in the right to practice our
religion of choice...whatever said religion might be...while at the
same time actually giving us the right not to have religious dogma of
any kind being shoved down our throats...fair is fair after all.Simply,
I truly do believe that religion must stay out of politics, and in
turn politics must stay out of religion...it cannot be any other way
if we are to truly uphold the written words of the Constitution as
being the true law of our land. Remember, nowhere in the Constitution
do the words God, Jesus, Christianity, or any other religious musings
appear, as our “Founders and Framers” chose instead to invoke the
word “Creator” for a reason...as in to leave it up to each
individual to decide what, if any, religious doctrine they wish to
ascribe to, or if they choose not to believe in a “divine being”
at all.
But
why do I bring up the hot button issue of religious rights at this
point in time...simply because President Trump recently declared that
in honor of America's 250th birthday a
“national
prayer event”
will be held at the National Mall on May 17th to
“re-dedicate America as one nation under God.” In
other words, by his doing so our president would be openly allowing
religion to reenter the political discourse which could, in the long
run, cause more harm than good for it would draw the “haters”
out en-mass. How so...first by their using Trump's own words against
him...words that this very event was a way to “return
religion back to the public arena”...as
if religion ever left the public or the political arenas...which it
obviously has not. And second, Trump's phraseology alone can and will
be misconstrued by many in regards to which “God”
he's referring to.
Here are but a few examples. Invoking the actual word “God”
is not a problem for Christians and Jews as they do share and believe
in the same “God,”
but if Trump was to say the “Lord
God Jesus”
a problem could well arise not just within America's Jewish
community, but also within his own family as well. Remember, Trump's
daughter Ivanka is a practicing Orthodox Jew as are her husband, and their three children...hence their now being Trump's beloved grandchildren.But
if the name “Jesus”
is not spoken by Trump in his “re-dedication”
then the religious far right...for example the Evangelicals...who
firmly believe that God is Jesus and Jesus is God...could deem his
leaving out the name “Jesus”
when speaking of “God”
as being blasphemy of sorts. And what of those Americans of the
Buddhist or Hindu faith, or those of Chinese ancestry who practice a
combination of Buddhism and Taoism peppered with a Confucian
worldview, which collectively comprises what is known as “Chinese
folk religion.” Would
their beliefs accept the simplicity of the word “God.”
And
then there's those American's who follow islam...a political system
wrapped in the guise of calling itself a religion. Would muslims
start behaving badly (again) if their supposed god “allah”
was left out of the “re-dedication”
discourse...I think we well know the answer to that.
Also, there are two specific groups of people who are usually
ignored when talking religion. Here I first speak of the growing number of
atheists who are good law-abiding American citizens and patriots who
just happen not to believe in “God”
or a “divine
being"... they surely would not be very happy seeing our nation being “re-dedicating” to
something or someone they simply do not and will not believe in.And
lastly, there are those like me, who while honoring and respecting
our ancestral religious heritages and beliefs, are grounded instead in tangible
here and now science fact, and not in the ancient texts bogged down
in conflicting dogma and tenets...as in those like me who are
believers in evolution not in creationism...those like me who know
well that the Earth is not flat, and that this beautiful planet we
all call home is indeed 4.54
± 0.05 billion years old.
And
yet
many of those, again like me, who still believe in the concept of
“God the
Father”...someone
or something had to start the “Big
Bang”
after all...see that belief as being our having a personal
relationship with “God,”
if you will, minus the fear, indoctrination, and collectivism that is
the hallmark of organized religion...for
we know that history itself has shown that “in
the name of religion” more
hatred, division, animosity, suffering, wars, and deaths have
occurred than most are willing to admit to.
No,
“re-dedicating
our country to God”
will indeed reignite tenfold both the Constitutional and public
debate over the role of faith in both our political and public life. For example, when hearing about Trump's upcoming May “re-dedication”
event, posted online was this comment from someone who posts under
the name of 'MAGA voice,' “President
Trump stuns America by announcing America will re-dedicate itself to
God on May 17th 2026. ‘We're going to re-dedicate America as one
nation under God.’ CHRIST IS KING.” And
the problem with this post and others like it is that the country our
Forefathers founded did not allow for kings of any kind...religious
or otherwise...period.Simply,
in my opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong with Trump's calling
for a “National
Day of Prayer”
to thank “God”
for all America's blessings bestowed upon her but, for me, the
problem lies solely with the word “re-dedicating.”
Why so...because these United States needs no “re-dedicating”
to anyone...divine or otherwise...not now, not ever. We are who we
are...the greatest and freest nation the world has ever known...nor
do we have to as President Trump also stated,
“bring religion back to America.”
Again
why so...because as I previously stated at the beginning of this
article, religion has never left America...people themselves of their
“own free
will”
have either left religion or embraced religion. Americans remain free
to pray or not to pray as they so choose...free to believe or not to
believe...the choice is theirs alone. Instead, the truth being
ignored by the faithful in relation to the hateful political
discourse birthed during these most dangerous of times, should not be
driven by a supposed need “re-dedicate”
or
return to religion, but by the need to return to the law of our land
as laid down in the U.S. Constitution. In my opinion it's the
Constitution that has been corrupted by those who truly do not
understand the nature of politics itself nor religion's role...or
the much needed lack thereof...in said politics, that has caused much
of the divide within not just today's Republican party, but within
our nation as well.
And lastly,
I believe America should “rededicate”
itself not to “God,”
but to the the Constitution*...“re-dedicate”
ourselves to honoring both the Constitution's words and the patriots
whose blood was willingly shed in the name of freedom...and leave the
“re-dedicating”
of prayers, religious beliefs, and one's soul to the clergy and
to “God."
And as a Constitutional Republican I think the great Daniel Webster said it best when he stated, “Hold
onto the Constitution of the United States of America and the republic
for which it stands. What has happened once in six thousand years may
never happen again. Hold on to your Constitution, for if the American
Constitution shall fall there will be anarchy throughout the world." So hate
me, call me a heathen, an agnostic, or even a deist if you wish, but
these musings are my opinion, and I proudly stand by my every word
stated, as well as I stand by the fact that never...I repeat
never...was an official dedication to “God”
a foundational principal** of these United States. Case closed.
___________________________________________________
FOOTNOTES
*
The “U.S. Constitution”
contains approximately 7,500 words, including, to date, 27
amendments. However, our nation's “law
of the land”
nowhere includes the words "God,"
"Jesus,” "Christianity," "kings,” "Bible,"
or
"commandments,”
nor
does it speak of dedicating our new nation to “God.”
**
The “Federalist Papers”...a
group of 85 essays penned by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and
John Jay...sees not
one of its essays focusing on religion or “God”
as some still claim. The essays focus was a
response to the failures of the governmental aspects of the “Articles
of Confederation.” Focusing
on
the need for a centralized government to manage trade, provide
security, and create a stable currency, these essays...as with the
“Constitution”...saw
no dedication of our nation to
“God”
let alone such a dedication being a “foundational
principal.”
Copyright
© 2026 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved.
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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, Save "SAVE”.
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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE! Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 24th from 7 to 8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'A Misguided Re-Dedication'; 'Save "SAVE"'; and important news of the day. Tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com Click 'LISTEN LIVE.'
