"Pledge of Allegiance"

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all."

Most folks don't know that this is the original Pledge of Allegiance written by a fellow named Francis Bellamy on September 7, 1892. Once a Baptist minister, he was a member of the Christian Socialist Movement and a Freemason. He began writing for a magazine "Youth" who asked him to write a pledge as part of their campaign: one, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival to the Americas; and two, a way to call for national unity after the Civil War (A promise or oath to the U.S. and the National Flag). Mr. Bellamy said that the purpose was intended to teach obedience to the state as a virtue. Public Schools began using it on October 12, 1892.

Against Mr. Bellamy's wishes, in 1923 the Daughters of the American Revolution and the American Legion pressured to replace the words "my flag" with "the Flag of the United Stated of America" to ensure that immigrants knew which flag to pledge the oath. In 1924 the changed was finally made and a year after this "America" was added. In 1931, before his death Mr. Bellamy stated that the pledge "was born out of my own love of the flag and for all the lofty Americanism [it] represented." It wasn't until December 28, 1945 that The United States Congress officially recognized the Pledge as the official national pledge.

An organization called the Knights of Columbus, out of New York City, believed that the pledge was incomplete without the reference to a deity. Referring to a term from President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address the term "Under God" the KOC's felt it appropriate to adapt it to the national pledge and on April 22, 1951 they adopted it as their new pledge. On September 24, 1952 the National Fraternal Congress adopted a similar resolution.

Many attempts were made to amend the official national pledge but it wasn't until a minister, George Macpherson Docherty, pastor to the NY Ave Presbyterian Church near the White House, began a campaign to change the Pledge. With sermon in hand, the then President D. Eisenhower on the pew, focused on the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's termed phrase "Under God" stating "that a pledge without reference to a deity is just another nation." June 14, 1954, President Eisenhower signed into law the new Pledge that included the words "Under God." And as Paul Harvey generally ends his comments, "and now you know the rest of the story" but do we?

Most of us don't know or remember these events simply because we were too young, too old, didn't care, or if you didn't and agree kept quit for fear of being accused of being a communist. But patriotism in the fear of communism is not an excuse to overlook rationalism! Immanuel Kant, a 16th century philosopher and who was highly regarded as one of the most influential thinkers his time, developed the schematic for moral philosophy; "what is, what isn't, what might be," which is still treasured and used today.

Mr. Kant based this theory on the knowledge of reason and experience. For example: An idea is merely a thought, a conceived notion of the mind, but it does not exist physically like a book or a rock, yet it doesn't make it less real. In other words, "Pure Reason" must take into account that which we know to be true (the physical world) in combination with our knowledge based on experience (our senses; time and space " a form of perceiving), to fully understand or to conclude an answer. One of Mr. Kant's quests was to prove that even though God was not of our physical world that he had proven, based off his theory, that for those who did believed in Him He was not less real or didn't exist.

So what's "reasonable" in terms of our Pledge of Allegiance? Mr. Bellamy, an ordain minister, member of a Christian Movement, and writer, said that the oath was to show love for the flag and Americanism, which is more defined as "patriotism." He had every opportunity to include "God" into the Pledge but choose not to because he was trying to relay patriotism not religion.

Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father of this country, said, "Say nothing of my religion, It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one." Jefferson and many others of that time believed in that so much that the very fundamental stones of our democracy were established with that as the cornerstone.

The Constitution of the United Stated of America begins as:

We the People of The United States in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of American."

"[We] do ordain" to mean that the American People blessed or approved this document and creed to form our government and as a way to establish and govern our laws. Not as some might suggest that is was ordained by God.

Objecting to the term "In God We Trust," Theodore Roosevelt was quoted saying, "In all my life I have never heard any human being speak reverently of this motto on the coins or show any sign of it's having appealed to any high emotion in him. The existence of this motto on the coins was a constant source of jest and ridicule." And further said: "It was not constitutional, it was aesthetic. It cheapened and trivialized the trust in God it was intended to promote."

A 1947 a landmark case of The Supreme Court, Everson v. Board of Education, which clearly stated an opinion on the "wall of separation" between church and state: "Neither a state nor the federal government can setup a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will, or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion.." The very word, God, implies and signifies a religion or a belief thereof.

In 2004 The Supreme Court criticized the addition [Under God], that the original supporters were quoting Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, but to Lincoln and his contemporaries, "Under God" meant "God willing" and found its use in the Pledge to be grammatically incorrect.

Although religious institutions serve a sector of the American community (prayer, education, some community entities) they are done so out a certain belief or commitment towards a deity. If our government supported such programs, directly or indirectly, the "wall of separation" would then be breached. [Public] is a term meant "for all," it's very existence cannot be described for the mere-fact that it encompasses all American citizens " men, women, old, young, races of all kind. The Constitution further solidifies this by continuously and consistently repeating, "We the People", "Public", or "Citizens."

I can't speak for God, but I can only "assume" that He gave [Us] freewill and a little commonsense to pick and choose what [We] know and feel to be fair and jus for [All]. That the founding of this country was more than a coincidence, it was an opportunity to demonstrate to the world that America is about tolerance, acceptance, understanding, giving, caring, sharing, and human kindness. Our values arise from the stones of our foundation; (Freedom) Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness are our endowed Right. Just because I or you have done something repeatedly surely doesn't mean that that is the proper way or the jus way, and as I get older I've learned that truth, well, has a way to prevail. Truth will not be whether the American People believe in a Supreme Being, rather, that the Founders, The U.S. Constitution, and The People themselves wanted the free will to choose " "a fundamental right."

What is my point? The Pledge of Allegiance should be reinstated as it was intended, an allegiance to our flag and our country. That interference should not have been allowed anymore than, say, Bush was permitted to go to war in Iraq. But what is done is done and [we] need to go on from here.

This election and the implications extend much farther than the polls; it's a way to send a message to those who serve all Americans. We want our representatives to serve our nation with honor, dignity, integrity, and honestly, defending our rights as they were originally established foregoing personal biases that might interject or interfere. As I have stated before, "you hold office to serve all the people not your church; a leader's character is not judged by his faith, but rather by faith in a leader."

Our nation is in crisis and until we can elect a person, whether that be a Democrat or Republican, a man or woman, black or white; none will matter until the axis of this economy, our nation, and our leaders are re-aligned with its People.

Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free. Proverbs 11:21

Most Humbly,
Christina L. West

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