Whenever I hear the phrase, "separation of church and state," I envision some arrogant nut with his chest stuck out, bragging "You handle your stuff, Lord; I got this covered." I have watched through the years as the argument repeatedly crops up over whether, when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, "under God" may be inserted between "One Nation..." and "...with liberty and justice for all." This cropped up again in an article in the December 2nd edition of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The headline read "SOME FEAR BUSH�S CALL TO FAITH WILL BLUR CHURCH, STATE LINES." One of the things which reportedly upset the people to whom the article referred was the possibility that the president may encourage other public figures to "go much further�too far, many contend�in their efforts to infuse the affairs of state with religious teachings and customs." Civil libertarians, however, are described as generally giving Bush "high marks for his sensitivity to all religions and for his repeated assurances that the United States is at war with terrorists who distort the teachings of Islam and not with Muslims themselves."

Unnamed administration officials are quoted as stating that the American public itself, not the President alone, is steering the country toward the spiritual since the terrorist attacks. As hard as the battle was waged to abolish school prayers, the City Council of Harvey, Illinois, right down the road from me, just approved a resolution calling school prayer appropriate "in light of the recent acts of terrorism in our country."

The ever God-hating American Civil Liberties Union, however, remains consistent. They just expanded the legal action they are taking to force the state of Kentucky to remove displays of the Ten Commandments from county courthouses. Now, they are suing seven Kentucky counties and threatening any others in the state who refuse to remove the Commandments from the courthouses.

The City Council of Ringgold, Georgia, has taken a unique step to lessen the controversy. Hanging on the wall of the Council are three panels. One contains The Ten Commandments; another has The Lord�s Prayer. The third is empty, and is, according to the council president, "for those who believe in nothing." Next time I am in Georgia, I would like to meet that gentleman.

I wonder how many reading this column remember when the Pledge of Allegiance used to end "One Nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all." I cannot honestly condemn them for the change; all they did was stop lying!