Monday June 25, 2012, 6:10 am
true

Monday June 25, 2012, 10:19 am
Very ture

Monday June 25, 2012, 11:47 am

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.

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."

http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm

And....


In 1956 it [Congress] made the same four words the nation's official motto, replacing "E Pluribus Unum." Legislators introduced Constitutional amendments to state that Americans obeyed "the authority and law of Jesus Christ."

The campaign to add "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance was part of this movement. It's unclear precisely where the idea originated, but one driving force was the Catholic fraternal society the Knights of Columbus. In the early '50s the Knights themselves adopted the God-infused pledge for use in their own meetings, and members bombarded Congress with calls for the United States to do the same. Other fraternal, religious, and veterans clubs backed the idea. In April 1953, Rep. Louis Rabaut, D-Mich., formally proposed the alteration of the pledge in a bill he introduced to Congress.

The "under God" movement didn't take off, however, until the next year, when it was endorsed by the Rev. George M. Docherty, the pastor of the Presbyterian church in Washington that Eisenhower attended. In February 1954, Docherty gave a sermon—with the president in the pew before him—arguing that apart from "the United States of America," the pledge "could be the pledge of any country." He added, "I could hear little Muscovites [sic] repeat a similar pledge to their hammer-and-sickle flag with equal solemnity." Perhaps forgetting that "liberty and justice for all" was not the norm in Moscow, Docherty urged the inclusion of "under God" in the pledge to denote what he felt was special about the United States.
****
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history_lesson/2002/06/the_pledge_of_allegiance.single.html

If one takes us back to the actual pledge the idea of some indoctrination is present, just not religious indoctrination. That, as we see today is working to inculcate it's way into every American life.

Sorry about the copy and paste and long inclusions, Michael.

Monday June 25, 2012, 1:48 pm
thanks kit...francis wanted the usa to take care of people in all aspects of life much as nazi germany became...the nation should be a 'parent' for the masses and this was just an offshoot of many schools of thought including eugenics...Nationalism is actually a recent thing where the 'average joe' is flag-waving and such...personally i agree with al einstein more than most with this quote of his; 'nationalism is an infantile disease, the measles of mankind.' this disease has been used by those in power to get what they want by force....'War is a Racket' by Marine General S. Butler is a great essay(I Google it) and an illustrated expose called ' Addcited to War" by Joel Andreas is another piece i highly recommend to purchase...