Americans, when faced with adversity, have always taken was is designed to destroy us, and turned it into something that unites us. The attacks on September 11, 2001 were designed to divide us, fill us with indecision, and encourage us to huddle in the corner in fear. Instead, to the surprise of the Muslim World, Americans united, sang songs of patriotism, and honored their dead with memorials and moments of silence. . . while voicing in unison, "We Shall Never Forget."
The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a socialist that wrote the pledge in the hopes it would create a sense of nationalism, and convince Americans to adopt the principles of socialism, a concept akin to his cousin's (Edward Bellamy) writings regarding utopianism. The original Pledge of Allegiance was published September 8, 1892 in a popular children's magazine, "The Youth's Companion." James B. Upham, a marketer for the magazine, hoped the issue, which also marked the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's discovery of America, would encourage patriotism and the display of the American flag in public schools.
President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation ensuring the Pledge was first used in public schools on October 12, 1892, during Columbus Day observances. Bellamy hoped the pledge would involve children across the country in a large demonstration of national solidarity and nationalism.
The original pledge was recited as, "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The salute to the flag was with an outstretched hand, a salute that was later made infamous by the Nazis in Germany. Because of the similarity of the Bellamy salute to the Nazi salute, removal of the Bellamy salute occurred on December 22, 1942, and was replaced with a hand-over-the-heart gesture.
In 1923 the National Flag Conference called for the words "my Flag" to be changed to "the Flag of the United States." The words "of America" were added a year later. The United States Congress officially recognized the Pledge as the official national pledge on June 22, 1942.
The words "under God" being added to the Pledge was initiated by Louis A. Bowman, a Chaplain of the Illinois Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. At a meeting on February 12, 1948 of the organization, Lincoln's Birthday, Bowman led the Society in swearing the Pledge with the two words added, "under God." Bowman repeated his revised version of the Pledge at other meetings, as well.
In 1951, the Knights of Columbus also began including the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. On April 30, 1951, in New York City, the Board of Directors of the Knights of Columbus adopted a resolution to amend the rest of their Pledge of Allegiance to include the words "under God" after the words "one nation." Over the next two years, the idea spread throughout the Knights of Columbus organizations nationwide. On August 21, 1952, the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus at its annual meeting adopted a resolution urging that the change be made universal. Copies of their resolution was sent to the President, the Vice President (as Presiding Officer of the Senate) and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. After various suggestions and attempts to include "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, in 1954 the words were finally officially added.
President Eisenhower, though raised a Jehovah's Witness, a religious group that protested the flag salute in 1940 (following a Supreme Court decision, Minersville School District v. Gobitis, that ruled students in public schools could be compelled to swear the Pledge), considering the flag salute to be idolatry, but had been baptized a Presbyterian just a year before, encouraged the change after witnessing a sermon based on the Gettysburg Address by George MacPherson Docherty, titled "A New Birth of Freedom," and after a conversation he had with Docherty after the sermon. Eisenhower acted upon Docherty's suggestion the following day, recognizing adding "under God" as an opportunity to differentiate America from the "godless" communists of the Soviet Union. Representative Charles Oakman, a Republican from Michigan, introduced a bill calling for adding "under God" to the Pledge. Congress passed the necessary legislation and Eisenhower signed the bill into law on Flag Day, June 14, 1954. The words "under God" were incorporated into the Pledge of Allegiance on that day by a Joint Resolution of Congress, amending the Flag Code that was originally enacted in 1942.
Though the Pledge has been under assault, generally the Pledge of Allegiance is recited at many formal occasions, including at the beginning of the school day, and the opening of certain kinds of meetings. The Pledge, which was originally designed to destroy America, and encourage our nation to adopt socialism, has become a unifying experience, where we have moved it closer to our heart, and have added "under God." Civilians face the Flag, place their hands on their hearts, and remove any non-religious headdress while reciting the Pledge. Military personnel in uniform remain silent and salute the flag.
The Pledge of Allegiance is not the only patriotic exercise we hold dear that was not meant to be such at its creation. John L. Hancock, an author and public speaker, while writing for American Thinker, reminds us that "Yankee Doodle Dandy" was originally intended to be an insult, rather than a patriotic song that unifies Americans.
"Yankee Doodle," according to Hancock, is often wrongly assumed by Americans that it was a song written by a Patriot as a symbol of colonial defiance of British authority. The illustration of the wounded fife and drum players performing the tune at the end of the Battle of Lexington is an iconic symbol of the courage, conviction, and resolve of the American spirit.
Therefore, it would be surprising to many to learn that the song was actually intended as an insult. Originally a drinking song, British soldiers altered it in an attempt to mock and ridicule the colonials, especially the citizen soldiers who made up the bulk of the colonial forces. It derided their poverty, their lack of professionalism, and overall provincialism. The title alone made it grossly more odious than many of the terms that people today find offensive. 'Yankee' was a disparaging British term used to describe those born in America and, while 'Doodle' formally meant a fool, at the time it was also British slang for the male sex organ.
Yet, rather than reacting negatively over this insult, the patriots made it their own and, after one hard-fought battle, the British played it in tribute to their colonial adversaries. It would become the unofficial anthem of the colonists' struggle for independence and, for over two centuries, be the song that introduced children to American patriotism. A version of it, written by George Cohan and sung by James Cagney, inspired Americans during the dark days following the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. In films, such as The Great Escape, it is used to illustrate the indomitable nature of the American spirit.
Time and again in history, that which has been intended to divide and destroy Americans has been adopted as our own, and have become symbols of unification, patriotism, and the unbreakable spirit of Americans.
Today, however, that is changing. We are told by a changing culture that to act in such a manner is offensive, and not politically correct. We are being encouraged to turn our backs on our history, and to feel ashamed about our history. Deconstructionists have worked to revise history, to portray those that came before us as being genocidal, greedy slave-holders, and desiring to create the American System not to champion freedom, but to line their own pockets with gold. Once again, the forces of anti-Americanism have gathered, seeking to destroy our history, and fundamentally transform the United States of America into something that the Founding Fathers never intended.
While Americans have rallied to support France after a week of terrorist attacks (as we should), our leaders have failed to attend any event that has emerged to encourage solidarity with France against Islamic terrorism. And while our media has enthusiastically reported on the terror in Paris, they have only lightly reported on the slaughter of 2,000 Christians and non-Muslims in Nigeria at the hands of Boco Haram. A progressive political narrative has become more important than the truth.
The warriors of political correctness have set their sites on the names of football teams, like the Washington Redskins, and have done everything they can to appease the enemies of America who desire to destroy what this nation stands for. President Obama has cheered our enemies, and demoralized our allies. Our free-market system is being systematically transformed into the utopian nightmare Bellamy dreamed of, a system that nearly destroyed the early American Colonists before they realized the benefits of an economic system that allows the individual to keep more of what he earns. The agenda in place is one determined to demonize dissent, restrict freedom of speech, slight longtime allies, and subject Americans to the determinations of foreign authorities.
Will we continue to be the fools the British tried to convince us we were with their songs, or will we heed the battle cry, expose the destructive agenda we face, and rally to protect the sovereignty of our country that is under siege not only by an external enemy, but by a domestic enemy occupying the highest levels of our own government?
Individualism, freedom, liberty, personal responsibility, and pride in what our nation stands for must be our rallying cry. Our actions as patriots can level the playing field, and restore the republic that is under assault from so many directions. But it takes action to accomplish our goals.
In the end, we must answer the biggest question of all. Can we, as the citizens of this nation has done many times before, take what was designed to destroy us, and turn it into our own weapon, and unify this nation under a cry of patriotism, and resisting evil?
The shining city on a hill has not gone dark, but the glow has become dim. Are we up to the task of reigniting the fires of liberty, and fighting the good fight? Will we stand before our Creator and be able to say, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
The Redskins: A Yankee Doodle Moment - American Thinker
Historical Timeline: Under God in the Pledge - ProsCons
Rev. George Docherty; Urged Under God in Pledge - Washington Post
President Eisenhower's One Nation Under God - WallBuilders
Eric Holder, U.S. Officials no-shows at Paris Unity Rally - New York Daily News
2,000 Feared Killed in 'Deadliest' Boko Haram Attack in Nigeria - CNN
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