The US Pledge of Allegiance

by Red Skelton
Getting back to school...
I remember a teacher I had, he was the principle of the school in Vincennes,
Indiana, to me this was the greatest teacher, a real sage of my time anyhow,
he had such wisdom and we were all reciting the Pledge of Allegiance one
day.
Mr. Laswell. Was his name.
Mr. Laswell said, "I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the
Pledge of Allegiance, all semester and it seems that it's becoming
monotonous to you."
"If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you, the meaning of each
word?"

"I--me, an individual, a committee of one.
"Pledge--Dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity.
"Allegiance--my love and my devotion.
"To the flag--our standard, Old Glory, a symbol of freedom...wherever she
waves there's respect, because your loyalty has giver her a dignity that
shouts, freedom is everybody's job!
"Of the United--that means that we have all come together.
"States--individual communities that have united into 48 great states.
Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose, all
divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and
that's love for country.
"Of America\
"And to the Republic--republic, a state in which sovereign power is invested
in representative chosen by the people to govern. And government is the
people, and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the
people.
"For which it stands.
"One nation--One nation ... meaning, so blessed by God.
"Indivisible" incapable of being divided. 
"With Liberty--which is freedom, the right of power to live one's own life,
without threats, fear, or some sort of retaliation.
"And Justice--the principle or qualities, of dealing fairly with others.
"For all--for all, which means boy's and girls, it's as much your country as
it is mine."

And now boys and girls let me here you recite the Pledge of Allegiance

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
And to the Republic for which it stands.
One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

"Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two
words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance -- under God." 
Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said, "That is a prayer" and that would be
eliminated from schools, too? 

By Red Skelton.

(Richard Bernard Skelton)
comedian, actor
Born: 7/18/13
Birthplace: Vincennes, Indiana
Skelton's father was a circus clown who died before Red was born. By age 15
Skelton was performing on the vaudeville circuit, and in the late 1930s he
found work in Broadway, radio, and film. He performed a comic sketch in The
Ziegfeld Follies (1946) and played in numerous comic movies for MGM,
including Du Barry Was a Lady (1943). His popular TV show, The Red Skelton
Show (1951-71), featured his classic characters Freddy the Freeloader and
Clem Kadiddlehopper. In 1988 he received a Life Achievement Award from the
Screen Actors Guild. Skelton also produced and sold paintings of clowns. 

Died: 9/17/97 


1892
The pledge, written by socialist editor and clergyman Francis Bellamy,
debuts September 8 in the juvenile periodical The Youth's Companion. He
wants the words to reflect the views of his cousin, Edward Bellamy, author
of "Looking Backward" and other socialist utopian novels. It reads: "I
pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands; one
nation indivisible, with liberty and Justice for all."

1924
The words "the flag of the United States of America" are substituted for "my
Flag." Fittingly, the change takes place on Flag Day.

1942
The government officially recognizes the Pledge of Allegiance.

1954
Worried that orations used by "godless communists" sound similar to the
Pledge of Allegiance, religious leaders lobby lawmakers to insert the words
"under God" into the pledge. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, fearing an
atomic war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, joins the chorus to put
God into the pledge. Congress does what he asks, and the revised pledge
reads: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and
to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all."

Source: The Associated Press and Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. 

2002
A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled Wednesday that the use of
the words ''under God'' violates the Constitution's clause barring
establishment of religion. The ruling, if allowed to stand, would bar
schoolchildren from reciting the pledge in the nine Western states covered
by the court.

Dennis Miller

"So, Your Honor, the Pledge is unconstitutional because it says 'Under God.' Guess that means when you were sworn in with your hand on a Bible, and at the end of your oath repeated, 'So Help Me God' that makes your job unconstitutional! Therefore you have no job, which means your ruling doesn't mean anything"

MB says:

My only question is "One nation under WHOS god?"

Answer me that one question and I think you will show yourself to be a religious bigot.

And before you say "what ever god you like" know that atheism IS a religion. They claim to know the true answer to a supernatural question and are therefore, a religion. Agnostics make no claim at all and are therefore the one group which is not religious. Neither of those two groups are served by the words "under god" and will never accept them. Excluding these groups from the pledge conflicts with another line in the pledge: "with liberty and justice FOR ALL"

Here are some other political comments +

And here are some general quotes that might be worth reading.

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