Tom Tangney: Pierce County Council resolution to display ‘In God We Trust’ irrelevant and political

A member of the Pierce County Council is proposing a permanent and prominent display of the national motto “In God We Trust” in the council chambers.

The resolution is part of a larger movement being pushed by In God We Trust America, an organization working toward a goal of getting the motto posted in every government building in the country. It’s sending messages to local governments in an effort to encourage resolutions like the one being considered in Pierce County. There’s no word yet how the motto would be displayed.

While this national motto is standard on money and appears in other government buildings, KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney thinks the proposal in Pierce County is more about politics than anything else.

“I think it’s part of the political agenda and if I was on the right, I’d say ‘yeah,’ and if I’m the left, I’d go ‘no way,'” says Tom. “This is just a way to stick it to people who aren’t comfortable with it.”

“They want to make a point, they want to get it on record, oh you voted against ‘In God We Trust.'”

The message doesn’t even really make that much sense on money, Tom says, leading him to ask why we should bother posting it to council chambers.

“For instance, right now most people in this state approve of or allow for abortions, so what if you decide at City Council, we’re going to put a little sticker that says ‘We support pro-choice,'” says Tom. “Why? You already have the right to have an abortion in the state. Why poke it in the eye to people that don’t want that? It’s not worth the upset.”

Tom says Councilmember Jim McCune, who is behind the resolution, is apparently the type who likes to mix things up.

“I have no problem with people wanting to stir things up, it’s good for the news business among other things, but I think ultimately it’s not an issue that they should be dealing with when they’ve got other issues.”

The Pierce County Council will make its final consideration on Tuesday.