GUITAR TUBE

Youtube is the best teacher for learning guitar.

The Pledge

“… with Liberty, and Justice for All”, ends the pledge.

I remember learning the Pledge of Allegiance in 1st grade. I don’t believe I ever said it correctly until the end of third grade, and even then I was a bit shaky on the, “indivisible” part. I think I recall saying, “indi-wizable” a few times before I got it right. But I improved. I honed my reciting abilities and mastered that sucker before graduating into fourth grade.

The history of The Pledge of Allegiance, is fascinating. A Baptist minister named Francis Bellamy wrote the very first pledge in 1892. What a lot of people do not know is that it has been changed several times over the past 118 years. The words, “under God” wasn’t even in the original draft and was added much later, on Flag Day, June 14, 1954. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in his approval speech said:

“In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.” , (www.homeofheros.com)

Just 62 years of “One nation, Indivisible, … with Liberty, and Justice For All.” We have had the “under God” version for 54 years now. In nine years I want to do a spiritual ROI (Return On Investments) and survey the two time periods to see which was more godly. Not really.

It is interesting that The Pledge was also rewritten twice before the 1954 changes, in the years of 1923 and 1924. Neither of which used the words, “under God”, but added the word “America”, and moving the word, “flag” to a more appropriate position.

It is no secret that today’s American Fundamentalists Christians have fought strongly for the preservation and promotion of the ideas of “under God”. Not only is it important to the fundamentalist cause that these two words exist in The Pledge, but more that the ideology they prescribe remain alive and well in American culture. Fundamentalism isn’t a new idea. One could argue that fundamentalism drove planes into two towers in New York, launched the Crusades, or sent over six million Jews to the gas chambers creating the Holocaust. I would argue that fundamentalism at its rawest form is a dividing ground that creates an “Us verses Them” mentality in society. Maybe instead of America focusing attention and concern over Islamic fundamentalism, we should be watching for the influence of fundamentalism in America.

During his term as Vice President in 1988, George H. W. Bush once said, “No, I don’t know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.”

Eleven years later at the Southern Baptist Convention in 1999 his son George W. Bush stated to Richard Land, “I believe God wants me to be president”. (Both quotes compiled by Luc Nadeau on U.S. Fundamentalism for www.PurgatoriousMagazine.org)

One need only glance at both Bush presidencies to see this “Us verses Them” mentality. This was never so clear as our media flashed words like “Axis of evil” or the endless dose of the word “Terror”. There were some clear lines being drawn in the sand that we (America) are the one’s with God on our side, and others who were not like us, were evil.

Don’t get me wrong. I love America. As a veteran of Desert Storm, I am proud of my service to my country. This was, and is, in my opinion a great country with the means to accomplish mighty works that other countries could barely imagine. It is a country I believe a person is allowed to dream and take steps to fulfill those dreams. We are afforded the opportunity to dream because of the many sacrifices of others. So I am grateful for the sacrifices for my freedom to dream and even write this article.

We have been fed that our men and women are still fighting for our freedoms. However, I believe that the fight for freedom ended with the Civil War. Practically all the wars since then have been fought more over our economic interests. The Civil War taught leaders of our country that war was profitable. It seems war, at its core, is just a good business move. But who profits from war? Not the families who’s sons and daughters have fought and died for the idea of National Security. Is it possible that manufacturers of military weapons and surplus get fat from the idea of war? I am remind of Bob Dylans song, “With God on Our Side”. This Anti-War protest folk tune covers the accounts of every war throughout America’s history. With each war mentioned, Dylans suggests that we believed God was on our side. Then concludes the song in clear protest of war:

“So now that I’m leavin’ I’m weary as hell. The confusion I’m feelin’ ain’t no tongue can tell. The words fill my head and fall to the floor. If God’s on our side… He’ll stop the next war.” (Azlyrics.com)

Dylan presumes that God is not really into the whole war idea. I agree. It’s that whole, “Do not kill” idea God handed down to Moses as a standard for living that makes me think war might be included in that. I would argue that God was even being generous with that command if you think about it. It’s really a very low standard to ask people to hold to when asking people to just not kill each other. You could say, God showed everybody grace from the beginning by setting the bar so low. Interesting how awful it is when we see one person kill another, but view the killing of thousands in the name of our nation whom we pledge allegiance to, is somehow justified. Even with Bible verses.

Throughout history, countries have formed enemies and fought wars for all sorts of reasons. Be it land, resources, or economic interests as we see today. But what motivates a seemingly rational thinker to travel thousands of miles with weapons to kill or be killed for these ideas? What pushes a soldier into the heat of battle? Is it the idea of freedom? Is it mere courage? Or could it be an ideology based from a pledge and oath that every soldier must take upon entering service to their country? And of all the soldiers, marines, and sailors raising their hand, how many of those truly believe that God is on their side, and not on the side of their enemy? I overheard a conversation about oil in a local church house where a man said to a group standing around him that God would want America to have the oil in the middle east rather than the muslims. So how is this war about our freedom and security?

For more information on pledges or salutes throughout history, check out the link below. The Nazi regime had the straight arm salute that some even claim influenced Americans at the onset of our pledge in 1893. Visit http://rexcurry.net/pledge2.html to see video and photos of historian Rex Curry making this devilish connection.

Some questions to consider now… “Are we still struggling for our freedom as a nation?”

Do we need to change the pledge… again?

When we say “freedom (liberty) and justice for all”, does that include people who are not like the Christian Fundamentalist “under God” people?

“Keep on rockin in the FREE world” - Neil Young