To the editor:
In considering the Tennessee General Assembly’s recent passage of the “National Motto Act” that calls for posting the national motto “in God we trust” in public schools, I would like to point out our national motto, “in God we trust,” wasn’t adopted until 1956. It replaced a prior informal motto, “e pluribus unum,” meaning “one from many.”
Our nation is certainly a nation that is “one from many.” In contrast, while “in God we trust” may refer to the national majority, it does not represent the entire nation. Even on a local scale, many people don’t “trust” that God will intervene on their behalf or will make all things to be “for the best.” Unfortunately, our legislators seem intent on furthering our divisions by calling for schools to post a motto that is clearly not one that speaks to our entire community. There are many who believe that our children would be better served by learning to trust their ability to continually learn, to re-evaluate when needed, and be guided by their religious beliefs to fill in the many gaps.

D. McCoy
Elizabethton