This is in response to “under god” by Charles and Diane Doyon on Oct 26. First of all, a little history lesson: The pledge was written by a Baptist minister named Frances Bellamy in the 19th century and did not include the words “under god.” Out of paranoia, Congress added those words in the mid-’50s when the cold war was at its peak.

Bellamy, being smarter than those clowns, wanted to include every one of us, not just the select few who wish to force their beliefs on the rest of us.

Hitler was born in Austria and raised as a Catholic, and envied the clergy for the way they kept their followers loyal. Some Catholics overlooked Hitler’s efforts to eradicate the Jewish population. Let’s not forget also, that the United States aided communist Russia during World War II in an effort to stop the Nazis. So why do uninformed and misguided people feel compelled to give atheists such as myself and my family a black eye we do not deserve?

I think the pledge should be put back to its original secular version, a pledge we are all included in and one we can all be proud of.

Carl C. Harrington Sr., Livermore

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