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Vandals Strike Godless Billy Graham Pkwy Billboard
Click HERE for a hi res image. For Immediate Release (North Carolina, June 28, 2010) Over this past weekend, one or more vandals defaced with spray paint part of the "One Nation Indivisible" billboard on the Billy Graham Parkway. The words "under God" were added below "One Nation Indivisible" with an arrow indicating their placement between "One Nation" and "Indivisible." The billboard had first appeared Monday, June 21, and is near the Boyer intersection. "This act shows just how needed our message is," declared Joseph McDaniel Stewart, founder of the North Carolina Secular Association (NCSecular.org), sponsor of the statewide campaign. "Inserting 'under God' on our billboard is like inserting it into the original pledge in 1954: it divides us as a nation. Our sign doesn't say 'One nation under no God'; it is inclusive. It says 'One Nation Indivisible.' All we are asking for is a level playing field and the same consideration that any other citizen would expect for themselves. We think everyone should do unto others as they would have others do unto them. But some people seem to have missed that part of our message." The police were notified on Sunday and an effort is underway to review security video recordings from the nearby gas station. Will Warren, spokesperson for the Charlotte Atheists and Agnostics, the local ad sponsor, added, "We intend to restore this sign just like we are attempting to restore the original words to the Pledge of Allegiance. We've asked the billboard company to repair or replace the billboard this week." Warren continued: "In our view, this as an isolated act by one or more misguided individuals that isn't representative of the larger religious community in Charlotte. We've received a lot of positive responses overall and have welcomed 58 new members to our group in the past week, many of them glad to find out they aren't alone." An image of the vandalized billboard, free for media use, can be found HERE. For more information contact:
William Warren
Joseph McDaniel Stewart |
"One Nation Indivisible" Ad Campaign SponsorRelevant Quotes"...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."- U.S. Constitution: Article VI "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." - U.S. Constitution: First Amendment "...the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion..." - Treaty of Tripoli: Article 11 
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." - Pledge as originally written by Francis Bellamy in 1892 "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." - Pledge as it was from 1924 - 1954 "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands; one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." - Pledge since 1954 
"E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One)" -The Motto our Founders gave us |