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.