The Natural Linguist

The original motto of the United States, e pluribus unum -- from many, one -- originally signified the inclusion of 13 separate colonies into one body politic. But it also came to represent the notion that you can come to this country and become a participating citizen, taking on the responsibilities and reaping the benefits. In the 1950s, in response to severe threats playing out on the world stage, we adopted a new motto, In God We Trust . In many ways, this motto's intentions were similar to those of the original -- to unite us around a common purpose in order to prevail against forces seeking to destroy us. It was an understandable but risky choice to adopt the new motto. And now the full extent of that risk is becoming clearer every day. The trends we can see developing around us are making it more obvious than ever that we have to quash the terrifying specter of a government that wields the power of religion.  Power does not respect religion. It only uses it to advance its o