Do you know what the US national motto is?
I didn't.

Apparently, during the cold war, in an attempt to gather support from the citizens and promote disdain for "Godless and Imperial Communism", the national motto "E Pluribis Unim" ("Out of many, one") was replaced with "In God We Trust"! :eek: :eek:
The official state recgonized motto of this supposedly secular government in a law passed by the 84th Congress (P.L. 84-140) and approved by the President on July 30, 1956 was changed to "In God We Trust".
I am amazed.
Amazed that I didn't know this, and amazed that it happened.

On July 11, 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Public Law 140 making it mandatory that all coinage and paper currency display the motto "In God We Trust."

The following year, Public Law 851 was enacted and signed, which officially replaced the national motto "E Pluribus Unum" with "In God We Trust"

On June 14, 1954, Congress unanimously ordered the inclusion of the words "Under God" into the nation's Pledge of Allegiance. By this time, other laws mandating public religiosity had also been enacted, including a statute for all federal justices and judges to swear an oath concluding with "So help me God."

After Abu Ghraib I thought it was..

Hands up! Trousers down!:)

Dee Cee

After Abu Ghraib I thought it was..

Hands up! Trousers down!:)

Dee Cee
You left out the..

Bend over and smile for the cameras now...

Bells this is the American motto don't forget.
Five words maximum if you expect them to remember it :D
Dee Cee

I found a list with tons of national and state mottos (http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/List-of-state-mottos).

Canada: A mari usque ad mare (Latin, "From sea to sea"). It's a phrase I've heard since I was a kid (it's in our anthem) but I didn't realise it was our official motto.

Personally I like your first motto better than the second, shame about the change.

Bells this is the American motto don't forget.
Five words maximum if you expect them to remember it :D
Dee Cee
Heh.. Come on now DeeCee, you're selling them a bit short. Surely they could extend their memory to at least a seven word maximum. Although you're correct. Twelve words is just too much for them to remember. :D

hey, there's a whole web site devoted to the pro/con of "in god we trust" here (http://www.undergodprocon.org/) that claims to be unbias. I just took a quick glance but it looks interesting.

the USA could change to "Kbar khali kili haftir lotfan" ((arabic) only five words)which means "Thank you for showing me your marvelous gun" or this one "balli balli balli" ((arabic)only three but could use just one) which means "WHATEVER"

I have no clue what my national motto Is



by the way I dont speak arabic but got it of a web site with tranlations so cannot be sure that they are correct

Canada: A mari usque ad mare (Latin, "From sea to sea"). It's a phrase I've heard since I was a kid (it's in our anthem) but I didn't realise it was our official motto.

I thought it was "God! It's @#$%^&* cold!"

Some of those national mottos are quite cool, I have to say.

I like Brunei´s: Brunei, the abode of peace

Or those from Chile: By the reason or by the sword
After darkness, Light

here's some state motto's I found interesting, funny, ironic or just baffling:

Maryland: Fatti maschi, parole femmine (Italian, "Manly deeds, womanly words" or "Deeds are male, words are female")
Mississippi: Virtute et armis (Latin, "By virtue and arms")
New York: Excelsior (Latin, "Higher")
Texas: Friendship
South Dakota: Under God the people rule