One nation under God

(My facts came from Wikipedia, from which I liberally plagiarized. Feel free to double-check using other sources.)

Atheists get offended when asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance with the words "under God" in it. Christians (and to a lesser extent those of other faiths) tend to get offended at the suggestion that the words be taken out. What I never realized is that the words "under God" were not in it in the first place.

The pledge of allegiance, as originally written by Francis Bellamy in 1892, read, "I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all." He considered adding the words fraternity and equality, but felt they were too controversial, since many at the time did not believe blacks or women deserved equal rights. Later, it was changed to "the Flag of the United States of America" to clarify the meaning, especially for immigrants. In 1951, the Knights of Columbus (a Catholic fraternal service organization) decided the Pledge needed a reference to God. They took the term "under God" from the Gettysburg Address, and lobbied for the official change. At first they were unsuccessful. But then word spread to a preacher who delivered a sermon which President Eisenhower attended. He said that what made the Spartans great was not their walls, shields, or weapons, but their spirits. Similarly, what made the United States great was not the atomic bomb, but the American spirit, the "American way of life." He said what made the United States great and unique was her sense of being what Lincoln described: a nation "under God." He insisted that without these words, the Pledge could refer to just about any nation, so we needed to add these words. Eisenhower, thoroughly convinced, eventually signed it into law. He later paraphrased the sermon: "... These words ["under God"] will remind Americans that despite our great physical strength we must remain humble..."

Question: have we remained humble? In fact, have there even been occasions when we might have used the feeling of being "under God" to justify aggressive behavior? Finally, what about separation of Church and State? Certainly, the words "under God" were not, in fact, necessary to clarify that the pledge referred to the USA, since the words "of the United States of America" were already included. And why did we add the controversial phrase "under God" before we added the words equality or fraternity? We can't add both, because too many Americans would fear the similarity to the French motto "liberty, equality, and fraternity." What about equality alone?

I propose a new Pledge of Allegiance:

" I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: a Nation Indivisible, with Liberty, Equality, and Justice for all. "