Hello All
Happy Friday
“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.”
How many times do you think you have said that in your life? Depending on what age you are, it is probably too many times to count. Every day in grade school, every day in middle school and you at least heard it over the speakers every day in high school. None of that counts the football, basketball, sporting or music events that began with everyone saying it. Like I said, too many to count.
Did you believe and mean it all those times you said it?
Do you believe and mean it now when you say it?
Do you believe and mean just some of it and not all of it?
Do you believe and mean it when you say “with liberty and justice for all”?
Do you mean the Liberty part?
LIBERTY lib·er·ty – ˈli-bər-tē
Definition – noun – 1. the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, or political views . . . example, compulsory segregation would interfere with individual liberty
Do you mean the Justice part?
JUSTICE jus·tice ˈjə-stəs
Definition – noun – 1. Just behavior or treatment; the quality of being just; equitableness, or moral rightness; to uphold the justice of a cause . . . example, a concern for justice and genuine respect for people
Do you mean the All part?
ALL
Definition – predeterminer – used to refer to the whole quantity or extent of a group or thing . . . example, all the people together solved all the problems before them.
All means everyone, each of us, every American . . . all means ALL.
Maybe you believe in liberty and justice but not the ALL part. Liberty and justice is your right but it isn’t everybody’s right – it’s not for all of us.
We have just passed the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. It was ratified as an Amendment on 8-18-1920. Before that time, women were not included in the right to liberty and justice for all.
It has been 158 years since the Emancipation Proclamation and there is still not liberty and justice for all men and women who are not of the white race.
The ‘liberty and justice for all’ part was important to the person who first wrote The Pledge of Allegiance. You may not know that The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy (1855-1931). It was originally published in The Youth’s Companion on September 8, 1892. Bellamy had hoped that the pledge would be used by citizens in any country and that it would honored by and for all citizens.
In its original form it read:
“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
In 1923, the words, “the Flag of the United States of America” were added. At this time it read:
“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
In 1954, in response to the Communist threat of the times, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words “under God,” creating the 31-word pledge we say today. Bellamy’s daughter objected to this alteration. Today it reads:
“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.”
For about 5 different months during the year we fly an American flag at our home. It is on the front porch and I hang it under the eaves of the roof so it is protected from the rain. It is put up in May for Memorial Day, in July for the 4th, September for Labor Day, in June for the anniversary of our son’s Griffin’s passing and again in November in honor of his birthday. It can take me up to a month sometimes to honorably take our American flag back down. Sometimes it goes up at the end of May and doesn’t come down till the middle of July. I will hang it up this weekend as we head into Labor Day.
I have always acted by honoring and pledging allegiance to our flag to the best of my ability. I take it seriously and believe deep in my heart in the possibilities and the beliefs it stands for. Because of that, not only have I many times stood at attention with my hand over my heart as I have said the Pledge of Allegiance but I have knelt as the flag has been raised by those that don’t understand that too many Americans do not regularly experience ‘with liberty and justice for ALL.”
I have watched a lot of people in the past couple of weeks, standing in front of rows upon rows of American flags giving speeches about what they believe. Some who have spoken very deeply believe that Americans should give allegiance and be faithful to liberty and justice for all Americans. Others speakers do not believe in giving allegiance and being faithful to the belief that there should be liberty and justice for all Americans, they believe and more importantly act as if it is only true for certain cultures of Americans, certainly not all Americans.
When do we start to live the TRUTHS WE ALL PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO?
When will our leaders?
So I ask again, when you recite the pledge of allegiance, do you really believe and mean it?
Today – there are still liberties white Americans are automatically afforded that Americans of other races do not automatically receive.
Today – There is still justice provided to white Americans that Americans of other races do not have provided to them.
All means all . . . not some, not a few, not many – IT MEANS ALL! Everyone, all of us, every person of any age, everybody, every time.
When you recite the pledge of allegiance, do you really believe and mean it? Do you honor what you pledge to and act that way in your life and push others to be faithful to what they pledge as well?
Do you choose leaders who truly honor their Pledge of Allegiance to ALL AMERICANS or choose those who pretend to but only pledge it to some Americans? There is no ‘almost’ or ‘some’ or only ‘these people’ in our Pledge.
“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.“
The Way It Is
© Bruce Hornsby
Standing in line, marking time
Waiting for the welfare dime
‘Cause they can’t buy a job
The man in the silk suit hurries by
As he catches the poor old ladies’ eyes
Just for fun he says, “get a job”
That’s just the way it is
Some things will never change
That’s just the way it is
Ah, but don’t you believe them
Said, hey little boy you can’t go where the others go
‘Cause you don’t look like they do
Said, hey old man how can you stand
To think that way
Did you really think about it
Before you made the rules?
He said, “son
That’s just the way it is
Some things will never change
That’s just the way it is
Ah, but don’t you believe them”
Oh yeah
well, they passed a law in ’64
To give those who ain’t got a little more
But it only goes so far
Because the law don’t change another’s mind
When all it sees at the hiring time
Is the line on the color bar, no, no
That’s just the way it is
And some things will never change
That’s just the way it is
That’s just the way it is, it is, it is, it is
Do you believe in liberty and justice for all?
Make it so in your own life. Others will follow.
And then the day will come when we will be in an America where there is liberty and justice FOR ALL!