It's nice seeing young folk observing the spirit of the First Ammendment that their elders some decades before failed to do. Even Porky Pig can recite the pledge of allegience correctly.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Government for which it stands, one Nation for all.
Indeed that is so....however the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag and the Republic is only a relatively recent practice, only being formally adopted in 1942 in the early years of the USA's direct involvement in WWII. During much of The Republic's history there was no formal requirement to pledge allegiance to the flag or the Replic that it represents. The original wording of the pledge as written by its author Francis Bellamy did not include the words "under God". Changing the words to incorporate "under God", was the collective effort of a number of Christians and Christian organisations, in a period of America's history fraught by the Macarthy era paranoia of "godless" communism. There is no sound reason for the inclusion of the words "under god", firstly, the existence of god / gods and his / her / its / their special relationship with the USA is a mere supposition, rather than factually supported. Secondly, a belief in a god is not a necessary element for pledging one's allegiance to one's country. Acknowledging the symbolic importance of the flag which represents the ideals embodied in one's country, and pledging one's utmost to support the the values and ideals of one's country is all that is necessary....the inclusion of "god" is just theistic territory marking...and just as dogs and cats and other critters tend to mark their territory...so too do the religiose like to mark their territory...
Well said!!! It is sad to think how many people are still confused, bewildered, or outright hypnotised by the nationalistic pride brought on by the greatest enemies to the republic, ever. The time of FDR and his merry band of Communists reorganized this entire country, and the madness that followed grabbed deep and still won't let go. Add the religious to this mix, and it's no surprise at how obsessive and controlling they can become. I wish I could just slap them awake from their dream and tell them everything is fake. Hitler's youth and support channels also pledged their flag. How similar we have become. Never forget this.
