Why America Says the Pledge of Allegiance
Jul 6, 2011
The 28 June, 2011 decision in Eugene, Oregon to stop publicly reciting the “Pledge of Allegiance” in all but 4 city council meetings has expanded into another nationwide call by many to stop reciting it altogether in public schools and other public places.
Among the reasons for reciting the Pledge are found in such statements as: “America is the only nation in the world that is founded on [a] creed.” (G. K. Chesterton); “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed:…”( Martin Luther King, Jr., from a Birmingham jail). That creed is the statement: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”( Declaration of Independence)
Thomas Jefferson asked the question (with the understood answer of “No”), “can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that they are gifts of God?”
Each time we recite the Pledge, we are deliberately reminding ourselves that our rights and freedoms come from God, not the government. THAT is why America recites the Pledge.
This reminder is what President Eisenhower was referring to when he signed the 1954 bill into law that added the phrase “under God” into the Pledge,
“From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty.
To anyone who truly loves America, nothing could be more inspiring than to contemplate this rededication of our youth, on each school morning, to our country’s true meaning.
…Especially is this meaningful as we regard today’s world…millions deadened in mind and soul by a materialistic philosophy of life…
…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 or in war.”
One would think that a reasoned rebuttal to these reasons would be offered by those who oppose a continuation of the 119 year-old practice. But opponents typically do not rebut, or even cite, these reasons. Are they not even aware of these reasons? Do they not cite them because they don’t want others to be aware of them? It appears to many of us that many oppose the Pledge because they personally don’t affirm the creed of America and don’t want the Pledge being used to encourage students and other citizens to affirm it either. They are opposing the Pledge as part of an overall strategy to transform America into a Secular nation.
We of the Starkville MS Tea Party, along with most Americans, love our country, our creed, our flag and our Pledge to it. We want the Pledge continued in public places.