It's not that I seriously minded saying the Pledge of Allegiance in school. At that age, I really didn't know any better. It was just a few seconds out of my day where I stood up, recited something from rote memory and then got on with my life. But now the Pledge has been ruled unconstitutional because of the fact that it talks about being "one country under God." I was too young at the time to realize the implications of those two words, I suppose.

I wrote on Michele's blog that I didn't object to Christians celebrating their holidays. I believe that everyone should have the ability to celebrate their holidays. What I object to is the fact that at every job I've had, I got Christmas -- a religious holiday based on Christian beliefs -- off whether or not I like it, and I had to use vacation time if I wanted to go to Temple for the Jewish High Holy Days.

Like it or not, support it or not, this country is heavily populated by Christians who have inextricably woven many aspects of their religion into popular American culture. Things that are taken for granted -- "one nation under God," for example -- take on a different color when you consider a few questions: which God in particular are we all under? And what about the atheists and agnostics? I object to the fact that there are many aspects of our culture where religious significance is imposed on others who either may not subscribe to that particular flavor of religion or may not subscribe to any religious beliefs at all, especially in some situations that do not require or necessitate it.

I'm not a fan of any rabid religious people because most of them inexorably try to convert others. Some of us just don't want to be saved, y'know? I've heard more than once that I'm going to spend eternity in the fiery pits of Hell because I don't recognize Jesus Christ as the Savior of All Humankind. Well, forgive me for being a bit of a realist, but when it comes to most things, I prefer the analytical scientific explanation and I can't really accept something that I don't have proof of. This "God" that you speak of, can you show me anything that this Supreme Being has done recently that would prove its existence?

And no, the existence of Anna Kournikova does not prove the existence of a Supreme Being.