Theodore Roosevelt disapproved of the above motto. In a letter to William Boldly on Nov. 11 1907, he wrote: "My own feeling in the matter is due to my very firm conviction that to put such a motto on coins, or to use it in any kindred manner, not only does no good but does positive harm, and is in effect irreverence, which comes dangerously close to sacrilege...It is a motto which it is indeed well to have inscribed on our great national monuments, in our temples of justice, in our legislative halls, and in building such as those at West Point and Annapolis -- in short, wherever it will tend to arouse and inspire a lofty emotion in those who look thereon. But it seems to me eminently unwise to cheapen such a motto by use on coins, just as it would be to cheapen it by use on postage stamps, or in advertisements." The journey started in 1957, but by 1966 the phrase was added to all paper money. It would appear that the US is not the only ones that put some sort of Religious Motto on their money, but why money? Was it because money is a "corruptor" of sorts? Maybe to put "In God We Trust", the Dutch "God Is With Us, Brazil "God be Praised", or Britain "By Grace of God Defender of the Faith" on money was to hope that man wouldn't be corrupted by Money. Why? Was it about the money, religious society, or did a bunch of people have nothing better to do than come up with a long lasting slogan? I personally hadn't thought to much about it, but now am curious.
"In God We Trust" first appeared on the two cent piece in 1864. One school o f thought regarding the phrase's placement on paper currency in the 50's was to show our committment to opposing "godless" Communism. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! :m: Peace.
Yes that is strange, especialy concidering that on "The great seal" of the United States of America, which to my knowledge onyl appears on the back of a $1 bill, are the words "Novus Ordo Seculorum" the new seular order. Though I do suppose that by the fifties the influence of the freemasons in seting US policy was probably greatly diminished. Or heck, maybe they just turned all goddy when faced with communism.
That's actually a common misconception. 'Seclorum' does look a lot like the word 'secular,' but the phrase Novus Ordo Seclorum was borrowed from the Roman poet Virgil's Fourth Eclogue, in which he describes the beginning of a new age of peace and prosperity. It literally translates best as 'new order of the ages' or 'new order of the generations.'
Heh, just like the pledge of allegiance. Speaking of which, what's the status with Newdow's case, anyway? Seeing as the 9th circuit's rulings get shot down more times than can be easily counted, I kind of don't have much hopes for his efforts, though I wish we'd go back to the old pledge/money.
The Illuminati, an ancient Secret Society that were rivals to the Vatican had that pyrimid as a major symbol of their society. They were drivin out of Rome and regroped in the Masons, which many of the early US leaders were involved with. And the moto means "New World Order" and that was a prominant idea with the Illuminati.
There's also a wider "Why are coins the way they are?" question involved here. Certainly flat and round is a fairly sensible way to store or handle pieces of (originally) precious metal -- but go back to the earliest times, and what do you find shown upon these discs? Idealised heads of rulers, depictions of gods (or allegorical figures), stylised depictions of plants and animals (including mythological animals), and inscriptions of a magical or religious kind. Most things change in 2500 years -- but coins have signally failed to evolve. (Imagine if transport had failed to evolve from the chariot!!!) Though I suppose you could claim that some had evolved into credit cards. British coins reveal that ELIZABETH II is queen "D.G." or "DEI GRA(TIA)", i.e. by the grace of God. Perhaps that is reassuring to some people. A little religious incription like IN GOD WE TRUST is certainly in keeping with a very long tradition, but it will take a more powerful form of magic to halt inflation if the budget deficit keeps increasing.
In New Zealand about 20 years ago some wonk came up with a different version of the motto There was a poster advertising a brand of beer (forget which one, which says a lot for the add, doesn't it) Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Anyway, the add showed a couple of shepherds walking along a country road with a dog between them, and the logo was "In (whatever brand of beer) we trust" Someone came along and grafitti'd the signs 'In dog we thrust' Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I'm surprised you missed it Stokes. They passed the buck. The U.S .Supreme Court in late August refused to reconsider its decision in the Pledge of Allegiance case. In a ruling handed down in early summer, the high court dismissed on technical grounds a church-state challenge to the use of “under God” in public school Pledge recitations. California physician Michael Newdow brought the lawsuit on behalf of his daughter, a public school student. But Newdow has only partial custody of the girl, and the court was able to sidestep the constitutional issue by finding that Newdow did not have standing to sue. http://www.au.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6956&abbr=cs_ I guess it will stay as is until they are faced with a case that they cannot reject on a technicality.
