Liberty and Justice for All: The Pledge of Allegiance
132 years ago today, Francis Bellamy wove into words the fabric of America.
https://www.libertynation.com/liberty-and-justice-for-all-the-pledge-of-allegiance/
Excerpt:
On an early fall morning, 132 years ago today, thousands of kids at schools throughout America rose together and looked up to a crisp, new American flag in their classroom. They then began to recite in unison the Pledge of Allegiance, 23 words authored by an American few today honor or even remember.
“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands – one nation indivisible – with liberty and justice for all.”
But these few words constitute a far weightier statement about America than is generally acknowledged.
The Winding Path of the Pledge
Although the first version of America’s “pledge” was written after the Civil War by Union Army Captain George Thatcher Balch, it was another American who penned the version we recite (with a few changes) today.
It is said that Francis Bellamy wrote the Pledge of Allegiance 1892 in only a few hours. But it was the result of several years of effort at one of America’s bestselling magazines, Youth’s Companion. In a marketing campaign, the Companion decided to offer US flags to readers who marketed subscriptions. Coincident with the approaching 400th anniversary of Columbus’ landing in America, the magazine decided to offer “Old Glory” to all public schools across the US and honor it with an oath.
Bellamy, a onetime Baptist minister, was at the time a writer for the Companion. Historian Richard J. Ellis, in his work, To the Flag: The Unlikely History of the Pledge of Allegiance, notes that Bellamy’s writings were loaded with marketing rhetoric and political espousals. Bellamy argued that pledging allegiance would ensure “that the distinctive principles of true Americanism will not perish as long as free, public education endures.”
The pledge changed in 1923 during a National Flag Conference led by the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution. It was determined that “my flag” should be changed to “the flag of the United States,” lest immigrant children be unclear which flag they’re pledging allegiance to.
Also of note: The version written by the ordained minister didn’t include the phrase “under God.” With the advent of World War II, many public schools instituted morning recitations. And a slight modification was made during the “Cold War” – President Eisenhower added “under God” in 1954 – essentially to distinguish the US from atheistic Communism, giving us the version we know today:
“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.”
Today, almost all states mandate public schools to schedule time for the pledge – only Hawaii, Vermont and Wyoming do not. Moreover, Congress begins each day with the pledge. Then there’s the US naturalization ceremony, during which America’s new citizens take the oath. Not a bad history for words that began as a PR stunt.
.....America’s Pledge of Allegiance is a far weightier philosophical declaration than is typically recognized by those who recite it. It deals with the very essence of who we are as a people, what we value and what we are unwilling to surrender in our lives: “…liberty and justice for all.”
Than Q for posting that.
Bill Gates to Stand Trial in Netherlands in COVID Vaccine Injury Lawsuit
A Netherlands court last week ruled that Bill Gates can stand trial in the Netherlands, in a case involving seven people injured by COVID-19 vaccines. Other defendants include Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, and the Dutch state.
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/bill-gates-covid-vaccine-lawsuit-netherlands/
Excerpt:
A Netherlands court last week ruled that Bill Gates can stand trial in the Netherlands, in a case involving seven people injured by COVID-19 vaccines.
According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, the seven “corona skeptics” sued Gates last year, along with former Dutch prime minister and newly appointed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and “several members” of the Dutch government’s COVID-19 “Outbreak Management Team.”
Other defendants include Albert Bourla, Ph.D., CEO of Pfizer, and the Dutch state.
“Because Bill Gates’ foundation was involved in combating the corona pandemic, he has also been summoned,” De Telegraaf reported.
According to Dutch independent news outlet Zebra Inspiratie, the plaintiffs allege that Gates, through his representatives, deliberately misled them about the safety of the COVID-19 shots, despite knowing “that these injections were not safe and effective.”
Dutch independent journalist Erica Krikke told The Defender that the seven plaintiffs — whose names are redacted in the lawsuit’s publicly available documents — “are ordinary Dutch people, and they have been jabbed and after the jabs they got sick.”
Krikke said that of the seven original plaintiffs, one has since died, leaving the other six plaintiffs to continue the lawsuit.