A Quote From Ed Koch

He doesn't sound like a Democrat:

The first amendment was not intended to ban mention of God in a public school setting. The intent was to protect us from the government imposing on the nation a preference for one religion over another. The Founding Fathers clearly believed in intelligent design, as evidenced by their statements referring to the Creator in the Declaration of Independence.

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Many, if not all, states already require by law that students in public schools be asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. That pledge was amended by Congress in 1953 to include the phrase “under God.” I suggest that the students be asked to also recite the Declaration of Independence or parts of it, in particular the phrase, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Perhaps each morning a student could be asked to explain what those words mean. A teacher might explain that many of those now engaged in a war of civilizations against us are taught in their schools that the killing of infidels is a first priority. Infidels are the vast majority of the people of the world -- Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and others who are not willing to, in the words of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, second in command to Osama bin Laden in Iraq, “convert to Islam or pay us tribute.”

There will be those who, as surely as God made little green apples, as the lyric goes, will denounce such discussions as jingoism. These ostriches refuse to acknowledge that we are at war with millions of terrorists and their supporters worldwide who openly acknowledge that they want to kill us all. The first and overriding right of every society and individual is to defend themselves against assault. Self-defense includes educating our children by providing them with reasons why our values -- life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- are worth defending.

Sing it, Ed.