Monday, February 1, 2021

The Pledge and Flag Under Fire

Frederick R Smith has moved to Frederick R. Smith Speaks (substack.com)

The phrase “the laws of Nature and Nature’s God” contained in the Declaration of Independence is an important founding concept.  This is the understanding that our government is subordinate to God.  Congress made this point in 1954 by adding the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.  Unfortunately, few of our citizens know much about the origins of the Pledge, or why Congress changed it.  Most accounts of the 1954 alteration focus on the fact that Congress sought to distinguish the American system as the antithesis of Soviet Communism.  The real story — patriotic individuals and groups sought to harmonize the Pledge in 1954 with the synchronization of the fundamental concept expressed in our founding documents.  A government is accountable not only to the people but to God.

In 1891, Francis Bellamy introduced the original Pledge of Allegiance.  It went this way — “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and [to] the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”  According to Dr.  John W.  Baer, author of The Pledge of Allegiance: A Centennial History 1892-1992, “Bellamy wanted it as an international peace pledge, so he hoped that all the republics [of the world] on their peace day, would put a white border around their flag, and recite it as a pledge.” 

Bellamy was a founder of the Society of Christian Socialists (SCS).  By 1891 he also helped his cousin Edward Bellamy with the advancement of the worldwide “Nationalist” movement.  Edward authored the novel “Looking Backward: 2000-1887.”  The main character in this novel awoke from sleep in 2000 to see that America became a part of a world union of socialist republics.  According to Dr. Baer, both the SCS and the nationwide network of “Nationalist” clubs were American extensions of the socialist Fabian Society.  Founded in 1889, the Fabians are a particular group based in Great Britain.  The Fabians want to slowly introduce “total socialism” around the world.  See the Nasty New World Order.

Public schools nationwide adopted Bellamy’s Pledge.  This occurred to introduce American principles to the children of immigrants.  By 1924, the Pledge was under attack from the American Legion and Daughters and of the American Revolution.  These patriotic organizations were able to see the hidden socialistic internationalism.  They worked to change the phrase “my Flag” (unlinked to the USA) to “the Flag of the United States of America.” Bellamy did not like the revision.  Ignoring his protest, Congress codified the revised Pledge in June 1942.  Congress approved an official version of the Pledge and it did nothing to force any American citizens to recite it in school or elsewhere.  Later the Knights of Columbus (a Catholic lay organization), lobbied Congress in 1954 to insert the words “under God” into the Pledge.  Currently, the Pledge now expresses the opposite of what Bellamy desired.  The words “under God” recognize that our nation is subservient to the Almighty.  Pledging to “one nation under God” is the antithesis of the allegiance to a State that imagines itself without God (as a supreme authority).

The commotion over the word “God” in the Pledge of Allegiance is a mastication of the 1947 Supreme Court case — Everson v.  Board of Education.  This was the first time the system prohibited states from the establishment of religion.  The Founders such as Thomas Jefferson indeed wanted government not to interfere in religious matters.  The Founders saw religion as prospering the best on its own, like the free market.  So, there were plenty of open displays of religion from the beginning to 1947.  Then in the early ’60s, the Supreme Court declared that the Bible is a dirty book for school children.  Today, there is an aggressive program to make sure the entire population worships anything but Our Lord.  A dependence on the state is a form of worship.

Contrary to revisionist history, there are copious historical documents and records that detail our Christian heritage.  Section 16 of Virginia’s Declaration of Rights, adopted by the Virginia Constitutional Convention on June 12, 1776, is a salient example:

That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian forbearance, love, and charity toward each other. 

Our Christian heritage is an important building block of the nation’s culture.  Today, we hear about how important it is to show tolerance of others such as respecting the Muslim “culture.” If the worship of Muhammad is a “culture” then some toleration of our Christian heritage would be in order.  Our fake overlords blabber on how we must not generalize all the people of a particular religion due to the actions of a few bad actors.  These same creeps drop this specific mantra when it comes to 75 million trump voters.  

The Caustic Cancel Culture Pogrom (CCCP) now killing our true history in a whirlwind’s manner is an affront to our Nation.  In one of many examples, The Lies of the 1619 Project give us insight into the many tools the CCCP has at their disposal.  The latest assault against the flag is a symptom of a much bigger problem that goes back in history.  It is the same old evil infestation as shown in this blog – socialism and communism, but a new type, with the debased commie loving corporations in partnership with government.  Originally the term “Fascism” described the public-private partnerships that occurred in Italy during the Mussolini reign.  Take your pick, Fascistism or Commucist to describe the Newtopia of today.

Facing the adversity of the CCCP, the heart-warming true story about Vice Admiral James Stockdale (December 23, 1923 – July 5, 2005) will give us some hope.  September 9, 1965, was a life-changing day for Stockdale.  It was the day the Vietcong shot down his Douglas A-4 Skyhawk.  He ejected to save his own life and the North Vietnamese captured him that day.  They detained Stockdale at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” (Hỏa Lò Prison).  They would take in a very, very troublesome prisoner.  He set up communications among the American prisoners of war, and a code of rules to organize the prisoners and boost their morale.

This famous quote by Stockdale will help us face the CCCP: “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

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“You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me.”

—Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Cogent Author and Publisher, Frederick R. Smith
Cogent Editor, Sean Tinney

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    2 comments:

    1. Great historical view of our pledge. I take comfort in the fact that patriots have been righting wrongs and protecting our great nation from falling into socialism for many decades. It takes an engaged and informed people to continue this great experiment. Prayers for our country, God bless America.

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