“In God We Trust” motto outdated, illegal

I caught (online) your editorial about “In God We Trust” Indiana license plates (“In Us We (should) Trust,” April 27) , which closed with the paragraph:\n“Though the tags do not explicitly endorse a single religion, the fact that they endorse any religion is grounds for concern. Freedom of religion, as guaranteed by the First Amendment, means freedom from religion, especially in the public sphere. If the state wants to endorse a deity, any deity, it must provide options for drivers of all faiths – even the secular ones. After all, we do have a Constitution in this land.”\nAlthough you never mentioned it, you must be aware that “the state” in the person of Congress and the federal Government, in the midst of 1950s Cold War reactionary paranoia, decided that “In God We Trust” would become the national motto, replacing “E Pluribus Unum” (from many, one), differentiating us from that godless Communist Soviet Union. \nIt is also when “under God” was inserted into the Pledge of Allegiance, ironically dividing “one nation” and “indivisible.” \nThe implicit message to secular drivers and non-drivers alike is that they are not particularly welcome citizens. Immigrants, who are required to take the Pledge, not-so-subconsciously hear “Non-religious need not apply.” \nThese are end runs around the Constitution, an intentionally secular document (and much maligned for being so) which made us the first nation to prohibit a state religion and require religion’s separation from government (which ought to mean no governmental promotion of “faith-based” anything). \nAs long as the federal government endorses these blatant violations of Church and State separation, you won’t persuade the states it’s unconstitutional. \nWhy not start a “Restore the Pledge” or “Original Motto” movements on campuses around the country?