Ross,
Kindly re-read my quote. I said that it had Masonic connotations. I did not say that it was a Masonic symbol...and no as much as I like the movie National Treasure, I didn't get that tidbit from the movie.
Here is the simple fact that is well illustrated in the most excellent article that you referred to me (and for which I am grateful). In the 18th Century allegorical symbolism was to be found in many places, and the fact that it the all seeing eye was used by Freemasons and others displays a degree of consensus. Frankly, I think the author of the article is really bending over backwards to disavow a Masonic connection, probably to deflect criticism by the nut jobs that think we are secret minions of the New World Order bent on making the world the purview of the Tri-Lateral Commission, the Bilderbergers, the Rockefellers, The Vatican and of course the international Jewish/Communist conspiracy, which would be humorous if people didn't actually believe in that crap.
As for your assertion regarding the Star Spangled Banner, you are correct and I can only offer a mea culpa. For pennance I would listen to Roseanne Barr Arnold's putrified attempt to sing it at a ball game, if I had a video or a recording of said exhibition (performance would be too kind a word). You should be commended for knowing your verses and count yoruself amongst the few and proud who actually know that the National Anthem of the United States has more than one verse.
I thought Nickle had some fine points about athiests. Not all Masonic Lodges exclude athiests. Belief in no deity, from what I understand from my meagre study, does not disqualify one from becoming a member of the Grand Orient Lodge in France, and I believe that there may also be some other Masonic bodies in Europe where athiests are allowed as well. I am sure there are those who read this board who can confirm that or tell me that I am full of baked beans.
I never 'got" the exclusion of athiests from the Scouting Movement per se. I know too, that people were excluded from Scout troops in my youth for racial or religious reasons (usually when a troop was sponsored by a church for religious reasons, although that wasn't true of all church sponsored troops and for racial reasons due to geographical location or demographic strata). But then, both the Masons and the Scouts are private organizations, although the Scouts are federally chartered.
This whole problem of something as trivial as having "In God We Trust" on money only serves to illustrate the problems of not having a "consensus" culture. With the exception of perhaps the Swiss, no multi-lingual nation has seemed to fare well. The only nations with truly diverse populations have been empires, and none of them have lasted. The problems in Western Europe today (not just France) clearly demonstrate that a degree of cultural consensus is necessary for a country to be viable and healthy. This is less defined by race than by heritage. America always thought of itself as a melting pot, until recently, and now it is more like a tossed salad...diversity may be grand...but in the long run will it be that which dooms us ? How free can we be, before we split at the seams ?
Regards,
Mark