Samuel P. Huntington's editorial vs. Gary Markstein's cartoon

Both Hutington and Markstein deal with controversal yet legitimate question about one line in the Pledge of Allegience which states "under God". Every now and then we can hear a statement "America is a free country" which means that there are people of different races and religions who are free to live their lives as they wish. The Pledge of Allegience itself also states "with librety" so isn't it a bit hypocritical to say "you are free to do what ever you want as long as you are faithful to America but you also have to believe in one God"
Markstein deals with this question through a cartoon which can be analyzed in different ways. We can see kids of different races which recite the Pledge but instead of saying "under God" they say "under nothing in particular". First we have to ask ourselves whether or not they are Christians. It is quite possible that they are raised as Muslims or Jews so why would they even have to pledge allegience "under God" and wouldn't that just confuse them. Yes, America probably is the country with the hightest precentage of religious people but that does not mean that all people who live there believe in God the Christians believe in. We can also see the attitude of the author of this cartoon. The students say "under nothing in particular" and the teacher thinks "God help us...". The author is obviously concered for the young people and the future of the country.
Huntington on the other hand states that Americans who are atheists or of other religion feel like "outsiders" because of those words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegience. Again through this article we see the hypocrusy. America is a secular country and because of the First Amendment everyone is allowed to believe in what they want but on every bill and in every courtroom there are words "In God we trust" and this is actually the motto of the USA. Huntington does not take sides in this article. He actually gives solution to atheists by telling them that they do not have to recite the pledge, but he also states that the atheists don't have the right to impose their beliefs to those who do believe in God.
To conclude, I think both authors have reasonable arguments. On one hand Markstein is concerned for the future of his country but he does not see the point of having kids of different nations pledging to the "flag". Huntington believes that everyone has the freedom of choice whether they be believers or atheists. I think tolerance and respect is what it really matters and if one does not sing the national anthem or recite the plegde it does not make him the enemy of the state.