The Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance brings up all kinds of hoo haas and turmoil, mostly by Christians. I think it was designed to rally patriotism for our country, NOT for certain, self-chosen religions. As it is, it violates the separation of church and state and violates the rights of how ever many millions of productive, honest, noteworthy American citizens who also came here to practice their religion without persecution. But that's Christians for ya. They are going to heaven and everyone else is going to hell (if you even believe in that sort of thing)

I personally believe we should put the Pledge back to its original form. Below, read about the history of the Pledge.

Francis Bellamy (1855 - 1931), a Baptist minister, wrote the original Pledge in August 1892. He was a Christian Socialist.

Francis and his cousin Edward share credit for the ideals laid down in the Original Pledge of Allegiance, which didn't mention God despite being written by a minister, nor did it mention "the Flag of the United States of America", it was originally "my Flag".

Original Pledge of Allegiance by Francis Bellamy

The Pledge was published in the September 8th issue of The Youth's Companion, the leading family magazine and the Reader's Digest of its day. In 1892 Francis Bellamy was a chairman of a committee of state superintendents of education in the National Education Association. As its chairman, he prepared the program for the public schools' quadricentennial celebration for Columbus Day in 1892. He structured this public school program around a flag raising ceremony and a flag salute - his 'Pledge of Allegiance.'

The original Pledge read

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

He considered placing the word, 'equality,' in his Pledge, but knew that the state superintendents of education on his committee were against equality for women and African Americans.

In 1923 and 1924 the National Flag Conference, under the 'leadership of the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution (the DAR), changed the Pledge's words, 'my Flag,' to 'the Flag of the United States of America.' Bellamy disliked this change, but his protest was ignored.

In 1954, Congress after a campaign by the Knights of Columbus, added the words, 'under God,' to the Pledge. The Pledge was now both a patriotic oath and a public prayer. Bellamy was more socialist than Baptist and was asked to leave the church, as such it is unlikely he would have favored this addition.

What follows is Bellamy's own account of some of the thoughts that went through his mind in August, 1892, as he picked the words of his Pledge:

It began as an intensive communing with salient points of our national history, from the Declaration of Independence onwards; with the makings of the Constitution...with the meaning of the Civil War; with the aspiration of the people...

The true reason for allegiance to the Flag is the 'republic for which it stands.' ...And what does that vast thing, the Republic mean? It is the concise political word for the Nation - the One Nation which the Civil War was fought to prove. To make that One Nation idea clear, we must specify that it is indivisible, as Webster and Lincoln used to repeat in their great speeches. And its future?

Just here arose the temptation of the historic slogan of the French Revolution which meant so much to Jefferson and his friends, 'Liberty, equality, fraternity.' No, that would be too fanciful, too many thousands of years off in realization. But we as a nation do stand square on the doctrine of liberty and justice for all...

If the Pledge's historical pattern repeats, its words will be modified during this decade. Below are two possible changes.

Some prolife advocates recite the following slightly revised Pledge: '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, born and unborn.'

A few liberals recite a slightly revised version of Bellamy's original Pledge: 'I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with equality, liberty and justice for all.'

(Thank you http://www.xyhd.tv/2007/10/rants-and-tangents/the-original-pledge-of-allegiance-did-say-under-god-nor-of-the-united-states-of-america/)