The Pledge of Allegiance—a commentary by Red Skelton
Red Skelton recites the Pledge of Allegiance - click to listen. As a schoolboy, one of Red Skelton's teachers explained the words and meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance to his class. Skelton later wrote down, and eventually recorded, his recollection of this lecture.THANKS FOR HELPING TO KEEP THE PATRIOTISM AND TALENTS OF RED SKELTON ALIVE. I AM FROM HIS HOMETOWN IN VINCENNES, INDIANA WHERE WE HAVE THE RED SKELTON PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AND MANY TRIBUTES TO RED AROUND TOWN. FEEL FREE TO VISIT http://www.vinu.edu/redskelton
Posted by kristi on 05/18 at 08:43 PMAs far as Red Skelton’s quote, he got it wrong, no one is accusing the Pledge of Allegiance of being a prayer.
It has always been accused as being government promotion of a specific religious view: the belief in monotheism.
History: Back in 1954, there was a concerted effort on the part of various overtly sectarian organizations, primarily the Knights of Columbus, to exploit Cold War paranoia and use McCarthyism to get “under God” inserted in the Pledge in order to push the country in a theocratic direction. A threatened Congress jumped right on board. Ironically, if anyone had indeed been serious about emphasizing what has, from the time of our Founding, made America unique among nations, then Congress would have changed the Pledge to say, “one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all - regardless of belief”.
The Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...” When Congress does exactly that, as it did in 1954 with the sectarian bill that added “under God” to the Pledge and the national motto to money, it is nothing more than strict interpretation of the Constitution that says the courts must then declare it void. That is their job description. Nothing activist about it. No personal belief involved. On the contrary, if Congress paid more attention to the Constitution (as should the people who elect the members), judges wouldn’t have the nearly workload in rulings over unconstitutional laws and practices.
The whole point of the Pledge is national unity and allegiance. Any division along religious lines makes a joke of it.
Better to leave the Pledge neutral about religion, in support of the harmonious pluralism this country has always stood for, don’t you think? Let’s remember, these are just little kids. Is it right to want to put them on the front lines of the culture war? Do we really need to be pounding into them the divisions in our society rather than enforcing the commonalities, the brotherhood?
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http://members.cox.net/patriotismforall/Posted by Hifi on 06/11 at 02:10 PM
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