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Health & Fitness

Our "Pledge of Allegiance" - Few Words Spoken With Such Powerful Meaning

Ever wonder what powerful meaning the few words of the Pledge of Allegiance hold for all of us? See what one great American had to say about it.

“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.”

Although few - these are powerful words deeply rooted in our nation’s history. The "Pledge of Allegiance" originally written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy was subsequently published in a popular children's magazine of the time, The Youth's Companion, and was part of the National Public-School Celebration of Columbus Day, a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas.

In Francis Bellamy's recollection of the creation of the Pledge, he recalled "At the beginning of the nineties patriotism and national feeling was at a low ebb. The patriotic ardor of the Civil War was an old story...The time was ripe for a reawakening of simple Americanism and the leaders in the new movement rightly felt that patriotic education should begin in the public schools." James Upham, a marketer for The Youth’s Companion magazine "felt that a flag should be on every schoolhouse", so the publication "fostered a plan of selling flags to schools through the children themselves at cost, which was so successful that 25,000 schools acquired flags in one year."

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We Americans are specially blessed, but it’s a blessing nonetheless that many take for granted. When we take pause to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, it is a reminder to us all that we have a God-given right, an inalienable right that guarantees basic human rights cannot be violated - the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It’s the reason we celebrate Memorial Day, to honor all those who have fought and sacrificed to preserve this — to keep strong these few and powerful words.

Every so often we are reminded of these rights and eloquent words through those who seek to become citizens. They have their dreams and aspirations; they have followed the shinning beacon of freedom and prosperity that has led them to our great shores, with the hope of one day becoming one of her proud citizens - to become an American. A close friend is now preparing for her citizenship and you’d be amazed at how much she’s learned of our country and our rich history in such a short time.

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Others and I are helping to prepare her for the citizenship test and one evening not long ago we spent a countless bit of time reciting aloud the Pledge of Allegiance, over and over! For one just learning about our history there can be a bit of confusion, so we paused to help her give meaning to the special words that were so carefully composed by Francis Bellamy. On a humorous side note my friend kept getting confused by the simple question, “who was the first president of the United States?” With great pride she beamed – “That’s easy — Uncle George, Uncle George Bush!” she exclaimed. Well readers I guess we have a bit more work to do before she’s ready for her test, but I promise we’ll get her there.

Yet in this process of helping our friend understand the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance, I was reminded of the following I had seen not long ago on YouTube. It’s by far one of the more moving accounts I’ve seen - and one well worth sharing with your children.

The late comedian Red Skelton shared his prophetic views of the American pledge of allegiance to the flag, which was recorded some 40 years ago in 1969, on his CBS television series "The Red Skelton Show." So moving and impactful was his self-written monologue about the Pledge of Allegiance that CBS received 200,000 requests for copies. Skelton recounted how Mr. Laswell – his teacher and principal from the Harrison School in Vincennes, IN, recited in his own words the Pledge of Allegiance so that the children better could understand and appreciate the true meaning of each word.

I – “…an individual, a committee of one."

Pledge - “Dedicate all of my worldly goods, to give without self pity."

Allegiance – “My love and my devotion."

to the Flag – “Our standard, ‘old glory’…a symbol of freedom. Wherever she waves there’s respect because your loyalty has given her dignity that shouts freedom is everybody’s job."

United – “…that means that we have all come together. States…individual communities that have all come together united into 48 great states. 48 individual communities with pride of dignity and purpose, all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose and that’s love for country."

and to the Republic – “Republic…a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people. And it’s from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people."

for which it stands – “One Nation…one nation meaning so blessed by God."

Indivisible – “incapable of being divided."

with Liberty – “…which is freedom…the right of power to live one’s own life without threats, fear or some sort of retaliation."

and Justice – “…the principal or qualities of dealing fairly with others."

for All – “…for all. Which means boys and girls…it’s as much your country as it is mine."

The video of his monologue appears on YouTube and is one of the most impactful accounts of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Toward the end of his monologue Mr. Skelton added, “since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country, and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance…’Under God.’” Mr. Skelton elegantly concluded with a powerful sense of foreboding…"Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated from schools, too?"

Happy Memorial Day to us all!

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