I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which is stands, one nation, under God ...

I am sure you have already heard about the California court that ruled these last two words are unconstitutional. Because of this violation of the separation of church and state, the court ruled that the pledge can not be recited in schools in nine western states.

This ruling is controversial indeed and will more than likely be appealed. However, I agree with it no matter how powerful and/or vague these two words seem to be.

But Lisa, if the court outlaws these two words in the Pledge of Allegiance, then future legislatures will then have to analyze the constitutionality of singing "God Bless America" and the "Star Spangled Banner" in public places. They will have to also analyze the logo on our currency, "In God We Trust," people might say to me.

This questions what we consider patriotic pastimes or American tradition. Also, it seems farfetched, as many people are especially patriotic post- Sept. 11.

But this ruling is protecting the freedom of children and their parents. Freedom is the ultimate foundation for what America is today. If anything, we need to be patriotic about this.

Long ago, many people migrated to the United States in search of what started as religious freedom from persecution in European countries. That is why the government and religion were separated in the first place.

This has allowed for the multitude of religious communities that we have today. Having these communities are a right and a choice for people to make.

My parents made a choice.

They chose for my brother and I to attend private Catholic schools. They wanted for us to receive not only the best quality of general education in our area, but also one that would include the basis for religious and moral foundation.

They paid extra money so that religion could be a part of our curriculum, but I believe that general taxpayers are not expecting this in their child's education. It should be understood that teaching or not teaching religion to children is up to the jurisdiction of their families. One of the jobs of the government is to see that parents have control over this issue.

Another objection to this ruling is that "under God" is vague and does not refer to any particular religion. True, there is not any actual reference to Jesus, Moses, Allah etc. But these figures are all indicative of monotheism -- the belief in God, capital G. Obviously, this excludes many other types of religion.

I quote Judge Alfred T. Goodwin, who wrote the majority opinion for this case, stating that "one nation under God" is partial to religion in general, and is a statement similar to "... we are a nation under Jesus, a nation under Vishnu, a nation under Zeus, or a nation under no god ... none of these professions can be neutral with respect to religion."

Furthermore, children are particularly vulnerable and easily influenced. They are taught to be submissive to their teachers. When reciting the Pledge under the authority of teachers, who work for the state, children are taught to respect the ideals set forth in the Pledge. Therefore, they are following ideals of the state.

When I was in school, the Pledge of Allegiance including the statement of God, prayer four times a day, and acting according to Catholic values made sense. That was the school in which I was attending -- a Catholic school.

My mommy and daddy told me that is what I was supposed to learn, and they reinforced these ideals at home.

But when parents are reinforcing different ideals than these, then there's a problem. Parents should religiously educate their children as they please.

If this ruling were upheld in a future appeal, then it would be a monumental step in changing part of American tradition. However, this endorsement of monotheism was added in 1954 to differentiate the United States from atheistic Communist rule. But we do not need to make that distinction any more, and taking out those two words does not lessen the significance of the Pledge of Allegiance. Right now, we need to see this change as a valuable leap toward progress. Slowly, we should analyze things involving government that deliver messages -- directly or indirectly -- about religion.

We need the opportunity to make our own choices for ourselves and for our children. We need to combat those things that make us not free.

We need to protect the core ideal of America -- freedom.