Should God still find its way into the allegiance?

I personally was asked this in a interview with a main newspaper in Portland. It was an odd question, especially when real and solvable problems plague our schools. I answered "Yes. Keep the pledge as is because frankly there are better things to do with our time." Lets not waste any more time talking about tripe. We work harder and pay higher taxes to receive fewer services than any other country classified as first world. It makes my blood boil to think we spend as much as we do on war when there is no socialized health care, no subsidized continuing education for most, no subsidized rail transit or clean transit, and poverty. Why are newspapers asking local candidates about the verbiage in the pledge? Do the authors of our local papers really feel that religious beliefs being pushed on kids is the most pressing issue we face. I urge anyone to check out the Portland schools web site linked here. Try to find in the school committee section the agenda spent on religion in schools. Still people who are running for an office think they are adequate because they Believe in Truth, Justice, and the American way. They think they are aligning themselves with people's ideals by talking a strong stand on the pledge. As a young person who graduated in the last twenty years I promise you the hardest thing I had to deal with was not whether or not I felt the presence of God in school because of the anthem, the pledge, or any other thing. No these issues very rarely reared their heads except when we tuned into to local politics to hear candidates posturing. When government officials tell you kids these days just need God it is because they are simple minded and lack vision. Running for this local office has taught me plenty. The most shocking lesson was how the best funded papers in town still are perpetuating divisive and non-productive debates on issues that should just be left behind.