Motto OK despite reference to God
This is a response to Robert Nekervis regarding his poor, yet common, interpretation of the First Amendment. In his article he claims that Governor Voinovich is trying to “circumvent the Bill of Rights” by trying to keep Ohio’s motto “with God all things are possible.” Whether or not one thinks that Ohio’s motto should have anything to do with God, the fact is that the current motto is not unconstitutional, according to the Constitution.Mr. Nekervis is correct when he points out that the words “separation of church and state” are not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution. The correct wording of the First Amendment is “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” Now, if Mr. Nekervis can tell me how Ohio’s motto is establishing a religion or how it is keeping other people from practicing their own, I may change my mind. It is ironic that Mr. Nekervis, to back up his claim, uses the fact that Thomas Jefferson coined the phrase, since President Jefferson committed perhaps the largest unconstitutional act in our history via the Louisiana Purchase. In fact, one of the things our third president is best known for is his incredibly broad (and technically unconstitutional) interpretations of our country’s most important document.I understand that in this liberal age (both socially and legally) we often take a broad view of what the “spirit of” the Constitution is, but the way I see it, there is room for both the First Amendment and Ohio’s state motto. If enough of the people of Ohio want to change their motto, then the State Legislature will change it. Until then, if you don’t want to use the motto, then don’t use it.
Mark NandorGraduate student, physics
