Amun-Ra
06-28-2002, 08:08 PM
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is an unconstitutional "endorsement of religion" because of the addition of the phrase "under God" in 1954 by Congress. Citing a concurring opinion in a Supreme Court decision, the 9th Circuit said, "The Pledge, as currently codified, is an impermissible government endorsement of religion because it sends a message to unbelievers 'that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community, and an accompanying message to adherents that they are insiders, favored members of the political community.'"
Although there is great outrage at the decision which will more than likely be over turned, it indeed may be the proper decision especially considering the religious and non-religious makeup of the United States now. When Congress approved the addition in 1954, the United States was neck deep in the great “godless communist” scare.
I was in grade school when “one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” became “one nation under God.” Francis Bellamy wrote the original Pledge of Allegiance on Columbus Day in 1892. His original Pledge read as follows: 'I pledge allegiance to my Flag and (to*) the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. *added in October of 1892
It contained no reference to God. Nearly 60 years later, in 1951, a Catholic organization, the Knights of Columbus adopted a resolution to amend the Pledge of Allegiance by the addition of the words "Under God" after the words "one nation". The following year, the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus sent copies of the resolution to the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, and to each member of both Houses of Congress. Following that, both Houses of Congress adopted a resolution introduced by Congressman Louis C. Rabaut of Michigan. In June of 1954, an amendment was made to add the words "under God".
This was not the first time the Pledge was changed. In 1923 and 1924 the National Flag Conference, under the 'leadership of the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution, 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. Now the pledge reads as follows: 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.
I remember 1954 as being infested with Communists and threats of Communism. Joe McCarthy was alive and well, and was persecuting anyone who didn’t agree with his stances on Communism, including writers such as Richard Wright, author of “Black Boy.” Many black artists, activists and dignitaries found themselves being “black-balled” from work. Many left the country and lived in France where life was much simpler than in the charged racial inequity of that time.
Liberty and Justice were hard to come by in the United States for any black person during those years and any pledge made by any blackperson at that time had to hedged by the reality that white folks were still lynching blacks, judges pretended that most blacks were lawless and Negroes, as we were known at that time, could get a professional job in the United States. Undestanding that should make it clear that any pledge to this country was a hedged bet.
Still, as a youngster, the change in the Pledge had little significance to me other than as an irritant when I tried to remember to insert the new words in the pledge I had only recently memorized. That was years ago and frankly, I knew it better then than I do now. After the fourth grade it stopped being the lead-in for the school day. Besides, Catholic kids had mountains of prayers to regurgitate before starting catechism classes.
It was a non-issue for me because I had no reason to remember it until I started writing a book that included a section on the historical separation of church and state upon which this nation was founded despite claims to the contrary. As much as some Christians would like to believe this country was founded as a Christian country, its founding fathers were mostly Deists.
What is a Deist? Basically, a Deist believes in a supernatural being or presence in the world, but denies the divinity of Jesus Christ and rejects the stories of the Bible as fables. George Washington was a Unitarian, while Madison, Adams and Jefferson were Deists. It makes perfect sense that the United States was not founded as a Christian nation because of the history of the writers of the Constitution. Jefferson, Madison and Monroe all had first hand knowledge of the excesses of religion, especially the Church of England which was the official state religion of England.
Many people came to the New World to escape the religious tyranny of the state sponsored Church of England. Like most religious states today such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, other religions outside of the Church of England were not tolerated. Intolerance led to the persecution of protestant sects which included murder. The government and the church were the same in the old world. It was this intolerance and proclivity for persecution that the founding fathers wanted to avoid, thus the separation of church and state.
Under the division of church and state both entities are protected from the excesses of each other. The government is not permitted to favor one religion over another religion or to form its own religion. It cannot shape church policy, practices or programs unless the church runs afoul the civil law. This division also keeps the church out of government and provides protection of the government from ancient dogma, outdated tradition and in some cases, superstition.
Today there is a cry from conservatives to put more religion in just about everything, but it is a temptation that must be avoided. By the last count, the United States is an overwhelmingly Christian country, although that is starting to change as Islam and other religions are beginning to grow. Nevertheless, a majority of Americans claim to be Christians.
A short glance at history will show disproportionate violence and intolerance connected with religious backed governments. Often human rights, civil rights and individual rights are lost to the religious government that becomes the dole arbiter of right and wrong.
I would be glad to see the Pledge return to its original state. One nation under God may strike some as profound, but to me it takes away from the pledge by adding an element of uncertaintywith its supernatural reference. Left as it originated, the pledge had positive power and was all inclusive without meaning to be, as I am certain that when it was written “liberty and justice for all” only referred to white males, but despite that, the pledge was well-done and needed no doctoring except for the addition of the word “to”.
By the end of next month, the adulterated version of the Pledge will be back in place and no one will ever know the difference, but just as the pledge probably wasn’t intended to give “liberty and justice” for all blacks in the United States, being one nation “under God” hasn’t had much affect either. Besides, I don’t have to stand in front of Father Barry anymore and recite the Pledge, so it will pass back into the back portions of my memory where it serves as fodder for debate.
;)
Let's wrestle with this one
Although there is great outrage at the decision which will more than likely be over turned, it indeed may be the proper decision especially considering the religious and non-religious makeup of the United States now. When Congress approved the addition in 1954, the United States was neck deep in the great “godless communist” scare.
I was in grade school when “one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” became “one nation under God.” Francis Bellamy wrote the original Pledge of Allegiance on Columbus Day in 1892. His original Pledge read as follows: 'I pledge allegiance to my Flag and (to*) the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. *added in October of 1892
It contained no reference to God. Nearly 60 years later, in 1951, a Catholic organization, the Knights of Columbus adopted a resolution to amend the Pledge of Allegiance by the addition of the words "Under God" after the words "one nation". The following year, the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus sent copies of the resolution to the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, and to each member of both Houses of Congress. Following that, both Houses of Congress adopted a resolution introduced by Congressman Louis C. Rabaut of Michigan. In June of 1954, an amendment was made to add the words "under God".
This was not the first time the Pledge was changed. In 1923 and 1924 the National Flag Conference, under the 'leadership of the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution, 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. Now the pledge reads as follows: 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.
I remember 1954 as being infested with Communists and threats of Communism. Joe McCarthy was alive and well, and was persecuting anyone who didn’t agree with his stances on Communism, including writers such as Richard Wright, author of “Black Boy.” Many black artists, activists and dignitaries found themselves being “black-balled” from work. Many left the country and lived in France where life was much simpler than in the charged racial inequity of that time.
Liberty and Justice were hard to come by in the United States for any black person during those years and any pledge made by any blackperson at that time had to hedged by the reality that white folks were still lynching blacks, judges pretended that most blacks were lawless and Negroes, as we were known at that time, could get a professional job in the United States. Undestanding that should make it clear that any pledge to this country was a hedged bet.
Still, as a youngster, the change in the Pledge had little significance to me other than as an irritant when I tried to remember to insert the new words in the pledge I had only recently memorized. That was years ago and frankly, I knew it better then than I do now. After the fourth grade it stopped being the lead-in for the school day. Besides, Catholic kids had mountains of prayers to regurgitate before starting catechism classes.
It was a non-issue for me because I had no reason to remember it until I started writing a book that included a section on the historical separation of church and state upon which this nation was founded despite claims to the contrary. As much as some Christians would like to believe this country was founded as a Christian country, its founding fathers were mostly Deists.
What is a Deist? Basically, a Deist believes in a supernatural being or presence in the world, but denies the divinity of Jesus Christ and rejects the stories of the Bible as fables. George Washington was a Unitarian, while Madison, Adams and Jefferson were Deists. It makes perfect sense that the United States was not founded as a Christian nation because of the history of the writers of the Constitution. Jefferson, Madison and Monroe all had first hand knowledge of the excesses of religion, especially the Church of England which was the official state religion of England.
Many people came to the New World to escape the religious tyranny of the state sponsored Church of England. Like most religious states today such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, other religions outside of the Church of England were not tolerated. Intolerance led to the persecution of protestant sects which included murder. The government and the church were the same in the old world. It was this intolerance and proclivity for persecution that the founding fathers wanted to avoid, thus the separation of church and state.
Under the division of church and state both entities are protected from the excesses of each other. The government is not permitted to favor one religion over another religion or to form its own religion. It cannot shape church policy, practices or programs unless the church runs afoul the civil law. This division also keeps the church out of government and provides protection of the government from ancient dogma, outdated tradition and in some cases, superstition.
Today there is a cry from conservatives to put more religion in just about everything, but it is a temptation that must be avoided. By the last count, the United States is an overwhelmingly Christian country, although that is starting to change as Islam and other religions are beginning to grow. Nevertheless, a majority of Americans claim to be Christians.
A short glance at history will show disproportionate violence and intolerance connected with religious backed governments. Often human rights, civil rights and individual rights are lost to the religious government that becomes the dole arbiter of right and wrong.
I would be glad to see the Pledge return to its original state. One nation under God may strike some as profound, but to me it takes away from the pledge by adding an element of uncertaintywith its supernatural reference. Left as it originated, the pledge had positive power and was all inclusive without meaning to be, as I am certain that when it was written “liberty and justice for all” only referred to white males, but despite that, the pledge was well-done and needed no doctoring except for the addition of the word “to”.
By the end of next month, the adulterated version of the Pledge will be back in place and no one will ever know the difference, but just as the pledge probably wasn’t intended to give “liberty and justice” for all blacks in the United States, being one nation “under God” hasn’t had much affect either. Besides, I don’t have to stand in front of Father Barry anymore and recite the Pledge, so it will pass back into the back portions of my memory where it serves as fodder for debate.
;)
Let's wrestle with this one