"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
These are the original words of the Pledge of Allegiance here in the United States of America. The pledge has gone through three subsequent changes. In 1923 the pledge was altered so the words "my flag" were replaced with the phrase "the flag of the United States". In 1924 the words "of America" were added. In 1942 the pledge was adopted as the official national pledge. In 1953 no less than six referendums were put to congress to alter the pledge yet again. In 1954 the first and only official amendment was made to the pledge. This amendment was the result of intense campaigning by a group called The Knights of Columbus but only made real headway when President Eisenhower attended a sermon based on the Gettysburg Address and the pastor made the claim that the pledge could be the pledge of any nation. He said that Lincoln's words "under God" were the words that defined the United States as a nation. The words "under God" were what set the United States apart from very similar pledges made by communist nations (keep in mind this took place during the communist scare). So in 1954 the words "under God" were added to the pledge.
In 1954 the pledge went from being merely idol-worship in the view of some religions (Jehovah's Witnesses in particular) to being unconstitutional according to the United States constitution. The rights of religious freedom granted by the first amendment are seriously violated by the words "under God" in the national pledge. In 2002 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the phrase "under God" to be unconstitutional. In 2004 the Supreme Court heard an appeal of the Court of Appeals ruling but rejected the case because the man pressing charges "lacked standing". The Supreme Court thus avoided ruling on the controversial issue.
The above is not "my opinion" it is the truth. The truth is the truth whether you believe in God or Quetzecoatl. And the truth is that not only should the phrase "under God" be removed from the Pledge to allow it to be constitutional once more but also children (and people in general) should be given a choice about reciting it and not be pressed to commit idol-worship if that is against their religion. After all, freedom of religion is a major tenet of our country and our country was founded by pilgrims were fleeing religious persecution in Europe.
To be honest I wrote this post in response to the various "viral" status posts that were being passed around Facebook which, among other things, stated that they wanted to "flood Facebook" with a statement of the pledge that deeply emphasized the phrase "under God". I feel (and yes the following are my actual feelings and opinions which for obvious reasons need to be separated from facts) that saying the Pledge in this manner is using the country to further their monotheistic goals- a complete opposite of what America is all about. I found the pledge stated in this manner to be offensive. Clearly someone who loves their country so much they're posting the pledge on facebook ought to love it enough to take a look at the constitution occasionally and also to love it enough to care about its foundations and laws. And as I said, this last paragraph is just "my opinion". My opinion about the country I love and its foundations, laws, and tenets but hey- if you disagree with me that is a completely irrational but valid and perfectly legal opinion for you to have under the First Amendment which also protects freedom of religion.
This was very educational. :) As a European I envy your strong love for your country. I love my country, Belgium, as well, although the politicians are starting to annoy me with their bickering. >>
ReplyDeleteI always found it kind of weird that American children have to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning in class. I wonder if the words of the Pledge differ from school to school then? And if some schools (if not most schools) don't recite the Pledge at all.
In my school the pledge was done every morning over the announcements so each classroom did it at the same time. It was not technically required and you could get out of it if you objected enough but when I was young I had no idea that you /could/ object. And even if you did object you were most likely required to at least stand during the pledge. There are several states (as a result of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision) that do not require students to recite the pledge but from my experience and asking people in other parts of the country it seems pretty common. Alternate wordings (such as "under Law" instead of "under God") of the pledge as not encouraged as the current version is legally the national pledge. This morning (today is Memorial Day in the United States) I decided to pledge allegiance to a flag we had at work using the pre-1954 version because my coworker and I had been talking about this before we opened the store.
ReplyDeleteI don't think its a huge deal. It's not like schools are requiring students to pray. It's one little phrase that means very little to most children, and as they get older will decide for their selves either way.
ReplyDeleteConstitutionally speaking, yea, it should be taken out of the pledge of allegiance, but I won't sweat it.
Interestingly enough, the reason that we recite the pledge of allegiance is due to influences from such philosophers as John Locke who argued that in order for a body of people to be governed, they must give explicit (in other words verbal) consent to be governed, and Rousseau (I believe it was) who argued that obedience should be institutionalized.
It is very interesting to see how much of the American revolution and the structure of American government was driven by English philosophers. The idea of an independent America was originated in England also.
Source:
Political Science major
The pledge was changed though, in part, so it would be a "public prayer" that could be said without retribution. As long as "under God" is in the pledge it's unconstitutional and it also makes the pledge fodder for people who have a monotheistic religious agenda. "Why is my God the right God? Well, he's in the Pledge of Allegiance." Doesn't seem right to me.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't surprise me that the founding fathers were influenced by English writers. They were all, at least technically, English. Although I suppose it is interesting to think about.
well i pledge evry morning in class because i decide to well its not a bad thing to do butt to some people butt its not a huge deal its not for stusents to come to school in pray its just a good influnce on the children to do good
ReplyDeleteActually, as I mentioned in a previous comment, part of the reason behind the 1954 revision was to make the Pledge into a "public prayer" regardless of your personal feelings about the matter. As for encouraging children to "do good" there is nothing contained within the Pledge that says anything about being good- it merely is a pledge to your country and the beliefs that country upholds (which creates a basic contradiction as one of the foundations of this country is freedom of religion). If you really wanted to encourage children to "do good" you'd have them recite the Boy Scout Oath in the morning (and that one contains God as well so this is not something I'm encouraging, either).
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