Under God

A year ago today, my friend, Brad Miller, died at the age of 28. Today also would have been the 27th birthday of another friend, Stacy Florence, who also passed away last year. Every Wednesday I like to share something I found interesting on Wikipedia, and after I share a story about each of them, I'd like to share something I had no clue about. Let me be forthcoming and admit it has to do with the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, which is currently in the news because people want it removed, but I assure you, this is about two relevant memories of two fallen friends.
Wherever devout religious people were, they would find Brad, offering their Amens and go-with-Gods, much like a cat that can always find the person that is allergic to them. While listening to someone tell him their life story, like he cared, I sat at my desk across from him smiling, knowing both were irritating him. Once he finished helping them, they thanked him and said, "God bless you," to which Brad rolled his eyes. For the rest of the day, I said "God bless you" every time he did anything for me. He finally got tired of it and asked, "You don't even believe in the same shit as these people, do you?" I responded that I believed in democracy and that it was "one nation, under God." He gave me that fed up look, to which I asked, "So how does it feel, knowing you were forced to repeat that every day in grade school." His response was, "'One nation, under the flying spaghetti monster' didn't have the same ring to it." Touche.
In a college English class one day, we were divided into groups of four, where we had to introduce and tell a little about ourselves. I got Stacy, some other girl I can't remember, and this other dipshit who was rather strange and got on my nerves. Dipshit introduced himself, declared his undying love for the Lord, Jesus Christ, and wanted to go on missions in China to convert them to Christianity. He subsequently skipped over the part about how he was wound too tight to even risk eternal damnation and masturbate to relieve stress. I introduced myself, said I wanted to just die of old age in the United States, and then he asked me what religion I was, like it was any of his business. I responded, "No preference." When Stacy introduced herself, he cut her off before she could reveal anything and asked her the same, to which she responded that she was Wiccan. I imagine he studied world religions on the side, because he had never heard of it, so she explained it, much to his disliking. "I don't really know what to make of that," he said, before adding, "It says one nation, under God, for a reason." I interjected that she would be fine, regardless, so long as she was a good person. He asked her if she really didn't believe in God, to which she told him she believe in me and what I said, so that should be good enough. He shook his head, eventually graduated, and I would imagine was beheaded in China.
"Under God" is in the news again and I thought it coincidental that it just so happens to be around that specific date. I looked up the reason it was added to the Pledge of Allegiance and while it was certainly interjected by our reptilian overlord at the time to make people think he was a typical American, the phrase itself was actually borrowed from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. We also used to salute the flag like Nazis, but I've been wordy enough, and I've just received news that it is also being inserted into the Chinese Pledge of Allegiance as well...

Brad's Obituary
Stacy's Obituary
Pledge of Allegiance Wiki