I recently got a rather conservative and aggressive email sent to me that basically laid out the idea that all people who do not speak english, hate conservative American culture, and “complain” and “gripe” instead of just going with the flow should leave America. It also stressed that the motto of America is “In God We Trust”, implying that this country was founded on Christian values and should be a Christian nation.

I have reason to believe this is a chain letter being forwarded about, which may or may not have been an original letter to the editor in a Tampa Bay newspaper. Here is a copy I found on the web.

I did a little research and it seems as though there is one major flaw in this arguement: “In God We Trust” is not the original American motto, “E Pluribus Enum” is, which means “Out of Many, One”. It was not until about a century ago that “In God We Trust” started appearing in papers and then on currency, and in the McCarthy era it was officially made into our nation’s slogan in order to show that America was a religious nation in opposition to the godless communists.

Personally, after I do a little more research and find out if this is really indeed the truth, I plan to start a petition to change our nation’s motto back to “E Pluribus Enum”. I think that motto far better reflects what America has really been about from the start: multiculturism, tolerance, and the freedom of expression.

Share