Beyond The Broken Spectrum

City council members in Marietta, Ga., will consider changing the oath of office that the city’s police officers take so that recruits can swear to uphold the law without saying the phrase “so help me God.”

This article can be found at Fox News

Lets examine this article, shall we?

Det. Gwen Lewis, a police spokeswoman, said no complaints have been received recently regarding the five-sentence oath the Marietta Police Department last adopted in August 2001. To her knowledge, she said, no would-be officer has ever objected to saying “so help me God” as part of the oath.

Alright, so this oath isn’t very old, only having been in effect for 8 years. Its not some sort of long standing tradition so I’d say such a challenge to the policy would easily have merit. Not to mention that some people would prefer not to mix government and religion. She also states that to her knowledge, no one has ever objected, however that’s not a very solid statement since we don’t know just how good her knowledge is. Its also very possible that some recruits would object, but likely didn’t out of fear of reprisal.

The councilman that brought up the subject during the Public Safety Committee meeting says that he does not object to the phrase, but as the city’s deputy assistant district attorney, he had encountered problems with individuals doing so in legal proceedings. I’m glad to see a fair-minded person involved with this, concerned with solving potential problems. We need more people like this working for us in government.

“I don’t think anybody should be forced to say anything,” he said. “I just don’t know what the alternative would be.”

He also says the phrase should not be removed, but did say that there could be problems with the oath if a police recruit is an atheist or not religious. Bravo, nice to see someone at least thinking of others.

But another councilman, Anthony Coleman, who chairs Marietta’s Public Safety Committee and works as a pastor at a church in Mableton, Ga., said he “adamantly” opposes any change to the oath.

“I just see no justification, I don’t care if the person is an atheist,” he said. “We’re a Christian nation.”

Its sad to see such a hateful person in such a position of power. He doesn’t care what you think, you must conform to what he thinks and he will use government power to force you to his will. This is one of the worst kind of politician scum, drunk on power and perfectly willing to impose his beliefs on others. Its not just religion here, its every aspect of what he thinks.

Say if this guy were to believe that drinking alcohol is a sin and should not be consumed, if he could, he would use his power to make laws throwing people in jail for consuming alcohol. If he were to believe that getting a divorce should be illegal, he would try to impose his will. If he thought that everyone should should believe in a certain religion or no religion, banning all others, he would try to impose his will if he got the chance. I’m not saying he believes any of this, but he is the typical statist politician that believes he has the right to legislate his own version of “morality.”

He also says the oft repeated “we’re a Christian nation” line. Some of our founders were christians, others were deists and theists and of other various beliefs. What they all had in common though was the firm belief that religion should be kept separate from government matters. This they all agreed on because of the religious persecution that many had suffered at the hands of the British government. Nowhere in or on any official piece of government property were anything pertaining to religion or a divine entity until 1866, 90 years later when the words “In God We Trust” appeared on various coins and “Under God” appeared in the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954.

Coleman said city attorney Doug Haynie has been instructed to develop language to allow any potential police officer to affirm his or her duties without swearing to God before the next committee meeting on Dec. 30.

Its good to see that at least this action is being taken. I have wonder whether or not Coleman supported the measure, as it doesn’t say in the article. I’d prefer that the motto be removed but allow recruits to say what they want, however that isn’t going to happen.

Any effort to remove the phrase will likely be fruitless, as Mayor Bill Dunaway said he’ll veto any changes proposed by the five-member council. Only a unanimous vote could override Dunaway’s veto, he said.

“In the eight years I’ve been mayor, there’s never been a problem,” he said of the oath. “I don’t think there will be any changes at all. If someone does not want to make that statement, I’m not so sure I want them on our police force.”

So atheists and non-religious people shouldn’t work in law enforcement because of their personal beliefs? That this some how makes them unfit to serve and protect people? That statement of intolerance and hatred is an embarrassment to public service. I’d go as far as to say he likely believes the same about politicians as well. He’s the same kind of politician Coleman is, only worse.

I’m glad he decided to not run for mayor again and is a lame duck. If he plans to try and attain higher office in the future, I hope his attempts are futile, because such a person is not fit to serve the good of the people. This can be seen in his clear disregard of the law, tax payer’s money, and rules of procedure.

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Tags: Bill Dunaway, marietta ga, Mayor Bill Dunaway, police oath, so help me god

Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 8:52 pm • Editor's Picks, Government, Politics, Religion, The News • RSS 2.0 feed