Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The Pledge of Alelgiance and Patriotism - under God or not

I think it is rather defeating of our nation, this whole thing about the word God in the pledge of allegiance. Not that the words under God are included or excluded, but the unholy stink being made over it by supposed holy people. It was fine when those words were not there for over 60 years, since the poem was first said like this:

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all."

The poem, only much later known as the Pledge of Allegiance (see: http://www.legion.org/national/americanflag/flagcode), was never intended to be a prayer when first penned, never intended to be a confirmation of a nation's or person's belief in God, never meant to be anything but a pledge of patriotism to make us all stand together as good Americans. If I want to be religious, I can go to church, or synagogue, or temple, or just get naked in the woods or meadows and whoop it up to the almighty spirit in the sky (but only if I was totally smashed of course). When I dedicate myself to my country, it is to my whole country, that 'We The People' thing, that 'United States of America' thing, that each and every citizen in the country thing - all regardless of our religious beliefs or lack of them. It was not written only for those who believe in any one God in particular, or to those who ever held a belief in any God at all, but rather was written with patriotism in mind. That is one of the reasons America is so great, you can be a patriot and believe in Jesus Christ, or be a patriot and believe in the God of the burning bush, or be a patriot and not believe in God at all - yet the people of this great country do their best to defend the lives and welfare of other Americans, and of our nation itself. Having differing religious beliefs, or not having any at all, and being able to pledge allegiance to our flag, and to our republic, an indivisible nation, despite all of our religious differences, that is a grand thing indeed. It is too bad, and truly sad, that ones belief in their God, in their brand of dogma, often puts one man at the throat of another, even at the risk of destroying that to which we have pledged our allegiance in this great nation. Too bad indeed, because if it keeps going the way it is, there is no hope at all for our nation surviving as we once knew it, and as we hope it to remain.

Don't get me wrong; I do not mind the words under God in the pledge, but nor do I condemn anyone who would rather pledge his or her allegiance to this country without bringing God into it. The latter type of person can be just as much, and even more, of an American Patriot than some who feverishly demand God be be put into the picture, and then believes it is his particular religion's God that is being named as the one mentioned in the pledge. If anyone was being true to their religion about this kind of a thing, they would know it is not for them to take it upon themselves to judge others under God's law, but rather it would be God who is to be the judge. As for determining who is a true Patriot, well those who live by the words of the Pledge of Allegiance, with or without the words under God, they are, in my opinion, true patriots and defenders of our nation.

All the best,
Glenn B

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is dumb, if the founding fathers did not mean for God to be included in the pledge in a real and meaningful way, then why did they capitalize it? Wouldnt they have just left it as a small g if they didnt mean God, as in the creator of earth? How can you say this and not make people think that you're just an atheist making a mad rant.

Anonymous said...

No wonder, haha, you work for the government. How silly of me to think that a government employee could have a mind of their own.

Glenn B said...

Those are two typical replies I would expect from someone who first of all is too timid or disrespectful to leave his/her own name, and of someone who does not know of what he/she writes.

First of all, addressing the first reply: Our Founding Fathers did not write the Pledge of Allegiance. It was written in the 1950s. The original pledge did not, I repeat, DID NOT, contain the word God. The author of the poem obviously did not intend for the word God to be placed into the pledge, and therefore authored it without inclusion of the word. Read up on the history of the pledge at the link provided, or find another link yourself. Shame on you for giving an answer supported by nonsense about what the Founding Fathers supposedly believed about the pledge and the inclusion of the word God within it, when in fact the Founding fathers never once saw said poem.

Now as for me having a mind of my own or not, mind you that I joined government service of my own volition. I am not a puppet of the government, nor an automaton, nor am I under some evil spell cast by a nefarious politician/sorcerer who is in control of the government. Thinking anything of that sort just goes to show how you prejudice your remarks, and how it is actually your opinion that is controlled by beliefs of others who are anti-government. The truth be told, I am quite the conservative on the great majority of issues whether or not the government is of the same beliefs. I think for myself, and do not use preconceived notions, as you just did, to make up my mind, or to express myself to others.

By the way, the next time you attempt to leave belittling statements in my blog replies, why not have the balls enough to identify yourself. It always amazes me how often people are ready to bad mouth others, but only from behind a veil of secrecy, such as from under a white sheet draped over their heads. You are always free to express your opinion in reply to my blogs, so long as you do so within the rules of Blogger.com, including your opinion of me; but why not just be respectful enough of me – whether you agree with me or disagree with me – to sign your real name when you jab at me. Heck, even if you don’t want to show respect for me, how’s about showing some self respect – because you surely show how little you think of yourself by anonymously posting a derogatory reply.

Regards,
Glenn B