Pledge Of Allegiance History

as it is...

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Letter to the Editor
Ft Worth Star Telegram
Posted on Wed, Sep. 21, 2005

'Divisive' words in the pledge

Karen Gavis suggested in her Saturday letter ("The words in the pledge") that some people might want to "dig up this country's Founding Fathers and put dunce hats on their heads."
For the record, the motto "In God we trust" first appeared on the short-lived 2-cent coin in 1864, and the addition of "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance was made in 1954. So if someone is to be unearthed and displayed with dunce hats, it wouldn't be the Founding Fathers.
I find myself wondering if these same people would protest if Muslims became a majority and voted for the words "one nation under Allah" as part of the pledge.
It was for this reason that the Founding Fathers (Thomas Jefferson, in particular) came up with the concept of separation of church and state. The majority should not impose its beliefs on the rest of the population. Why is that so difficult?

Barney C. Boydston
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From the first through eighth grades, I recited the pledge first thing in the morning, facing a flag, hand over heart. The pledge took on special meaning in December 1941, when we kids actually started to think about the words as we said them.
The flag itself brought Betsy Ross and George Washington to mind. We knew, or were told, the meaning of republic -- a special place where citizens choose their leaders by voting, a gift from those fellows who wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence and created the Constitution. Abraham Lincoln spoke to us through "one nation, indivisible."
When I was in college, the words "under God" were inserted and separated "one nation" and "indivisible."
On the rare occasion when I spoke the pledge, I skipped those words -- not because I objected to them for any religious reason, but simply because they interfered with the rhythm.
Somehow, President Eisenhower's voice was interrupting Lincoln's. But I guess we all liked Ike so much that we went along with it.
Like a good dad, he and Congress were trying to inoculate us against communism. They probably never thought that those words might offend non-Christian citizens, whose philosophies called God something else, or saw him differently.
But they needn't have worried, because the last six words of the pledge -- "with liberty and justice for all" -- are enough. If we can all pledge ourselves to them, God won't mind if the word God is left out. The pledge is full of him; it always has been.

Jo Kern
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When I learned the pledge (a long time ago), it flowed from "one nation" to "indivisible."
It served the United States well during World War II, when our country was truly "one nation indivisible." Inserting the words "under God" between "one nation" and "indivisible" completely changed the meaning of the pledge and divided the people rather than uniting them.
One of the reasons that the Pilgrims and other early settlers left their homes and came to America was a longing for religious freedom. We shouldn't allow their dreams to be destroyed by denying religious freedom to some of our citizens.
The wall between church and state must be preserved if the dreams of our ancestors are to be fully realized.
The words "under God" should be removed, returning the pledge to its previous content and meaning.

Margaret Stone
source: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opinion/local2/12702041.htm