"Under God" used in the Pledge should be offensive to any religious American. It was inserted into the pledge during the "red scare" as a way to try to make our economic system (capitalism) more appealing to the masses than an alternate economic system (communism). The ultimate irony, which few American Christians are willing to admit, is that Jesus Christ preached a philosophy that was far closer to communism than capitalism. Yet American capitalists spent the latter half of the 20th century trying to ally themselves with Christianity while ignoring Christ's most simple teachings.

Sadly, today, most Americans are too brainwashed to see that religion was used to discredit those who favored a more Christ-like distribution of wealth.

And no, I'm not a communist. And yes, I am a Christian -- in that I believe that the teachings attributed to Jesus would make the world a better place. The problem is that I can't deny the facts listed above -- no matter how convenient it would be to do so.

Other opinions are welcome, but I'd really like to see someone dispute those facts.