In God We Trust
In case you are not aware, “In God, We Trust” officially became the national motto of the United States of America in 1956, when the United States Congress passed it, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into law. Since that time, “In God, We Trust” has been printed on our money.
Cindy Holcomb, President of the DeKalb County Republican Women contacted Mountain Valley News to invite us to the presentation of an “In God We Trust” poster, to Dr. Jason Barnett, Superintendent of the DeKalb County Schools, with the goal of offering a poster to each of the 400 teachers of the DeKalb County School System. This gesture provides teachers with the option of placing a national motto poster in their classroom.
Holcomb explained, “This is not a political thing; it’s about our national motto.”
According to an act, introduced by Representative David Standridge, that was signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey, on July 1, 2018, the national motto may be displayed in public buildings, and on public vehicles including, but not limited to any of the following: public school classrooms, courthouses, libraries, government office buildings, law enforcement, or service vehicles.
“We learned about the law when we were in Montgomery,” Holcomb continued. “We didn’t even know the law existed, but when we learned about it, Sherry and I looked at each other and agreed that we wanted to take hold of it and bring it back home. Senator Jason Rapert from Arkansas had gotten this passed there; only theirs is mandatory that it be in every classroom. Our law is a choice.”
According to Holcomb, Representative Standridge wanted to do something to help our school students because of all the national disasters and school shootings. He was in a quandary about what to do and was awakened one night with the thought “In God, We Trust”. So after some research into the national motto, he discovered the law in Arkansas. Then he knew what he needed to do with “In God, We Trust”. He stated, “It’s a simple message, but I believe a powerful message.”
“We ordered the posters from the Arkansas Historical Society, which was started by Senator Rapert,” Holcomb added. “We had fundraisers to pay for the cost of printing and shipping, as well as the frames we got from Hobby Lobby, at a very good price.”
The DeKalb County Republican Women have a goal of offering the poster to the teachers of the Fort Payne City School Classrooms as well as reaching out to include the neighboring counties in this effort.
Dr. Barnett commented, “I think this is a good thing. This act is the kind of thing that transcends the individual. The pledge of allegiance and citizenship is something that we try to encourage.”
Holcomb concluded, “We’ve had a lot of support and people keep asking us for a poster. Even if I have to reorder, we want to get a poster to everyone who wants one.”
The DeKalb County Republican Women will be on hand at the Teacher Inservice for the DeKalb County School System on August 1, with the posters available for every teacher who would like to have one to display in their classroom.