“We give our heads and our hearts to God and our country; one country, one language, one flag.”
This statement was written by Colonel George Balch in 1885 and is generally considered to be when the idea of a "pledge of allegiance" got its start. Schools around the country adopted this pledge for about seven years when an alternative came about.
Francis Bellamy was a devout Christian minister and in 1892, was working for a magazine when he was given the duty to come up with a new flag pledge for the upcoming 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World. Bellamy's pledge read:
“I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The Bellamy pledge gained popularity very quickly and replaced the Balch pledge in schools across the United States. However, as you can tell, the Bellamy pledge is a bit different from what we have today.
In 1923/1924, the National Flag Conference changed the wording of the pledge to 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."
This pledge, as you can see, is pretty close to the one we have currently. The US Congress adopted the pledge as an official flag pledge in 1942.
The final version came in 1954. Christian religious groups pushed hard to add the words "under God" into the pledge. President Dwight D. Eisenhower agreed and with his support, Congress added those words into the version we have today. The current version 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."
Now for the controversy. First of all, there were secular groups that thought adding "under God" was not the right thing to do as not everyone in the US is Christian. These challenges have not had success over the years. Another controversial thing was how people saluted the flag when saying the pledge. It was in 1942 when Congress adopted the current practice of holding your right hand over your heart like this:
The original flag salute during the Pledge was much different but one I'm guessing many of you have seen before. Here is the original flag salute during the Pledge:
WHAT??? The Nazi Salute???!!! Are you kidding me?? No, I am not kidding. This was what people did when saying the pledge. Of course, it was changed during WWII because it was seen as being too similar to the Nazi salute(pictured below) who the US was currently fighting in WWII.
I want to end this forum post with the recent law that Iowa passed earlier this year(2021). The law requires all public schools(K-12) to recite the pledge once a day. Now it is important to remember that it is voluntary. No student can be required to stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance if they doesn't want to.
So what are your thoughts about the Pledge of Allegiance? Do you think it's a good or bad idea to have the Pledge said every day? Why? Do you think saying the Pledge makes you appreciate, respect, and love your country more than not saying it?
Please share your thoughts and opinions below.
*****Now that you know the orignal flag salute, please do not think you are being funny by doing the Nazi salute when you are saying the pledge in school. That salute is associated with the Nazis and fascists and is seen as racist today by many groups. These high school guys found that out the hard way several years back(link to story):
Replies
I think everyone should be required to say the Pledge of Allegiance because it shows respect to our hard fought flag. People died for our country to keep it safe. The least we can do is say the Pledge of Allegiance to show our respect and care for our country. I think when people dont stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I think that's very disrespectful and unthankful for what our troops sacrificed just so that way we can go home and not sleep in fear. I really think we should say the Pledge of Allegiance at school everyday.
I think saying the Pledge of Allegiance is a very important act to do. I believe you should stand for it and put your hand over your heart following the traditions, because the US military fought for your rights and freedoms. A lot of countries don't have the privleges that the US does, and a lot of the times we take those rights for granted, so just standing for your country is just a simple honoring act to dp.
I believe that saying the pledge of alligiance every morning is a great idea. I see no true issue anyone could have with the pledge because no one truly has to do it. I also see it as very respectful towards our military and other armed services who have laid down their lives for liberty and justice.
I think saying the pledge of allegiance is a good idea. When you say the pledge you are not only paying respect to this country but the people who have lost their lives and the people who are actively risking their lives on a daily basis just to fight for YOUR freedom and safety. Saying the pledge is the least you can do.
I think sayin the pledge was a great idea to help people respect and care for this country. When we say the pledge daily I believe it helps people to realize that there is soldier fighting for our country and we need to appreciate that.
I think that the Pledge of Allegiance is important because it reminds all of us what we as a nation have fought for in the past. I personally think that saying the Pledge of Alegiance every morning isn't a bad thing todo because it's important to out nation, but also it only takes around 20 seconds to say. To me, saying the Pledge just reminds me of how much I love the US.
Personally, I don't have a huge problem with saying the Pledge of Allegiance in school, but I do think that every school reciting it at the exact same time every morning seems kind of uniform in a country where we're all supposed to be able to be free and different. But in all, saying the pledge isn't something I think should truly be a big deal, because the idea behind saying it every day is to spread more devout love and appreciation for the country. While some are loyalists to our nation, some are not and have been treated badly in a country where we're all supposedly equal and have the same rights. For this reason I'm glad that we're not forced to say it, because people should not have to conform to saying a pledge to a country that has treated them unfairly or persecuted them all their life. Saying the pledge everyday, personally, does not make me respect or admire our country any more than I usually would. Honestly, it feels like going through the motions and repeating long-since memorized words that hold no value at all to me.
I think that it is important that we respect our country. I think that saying it every day is a good idea because saying the pledge every day is one good way to remind us to respect our country. I thought it was interesting that The Pledge of Allegiance was changed so many times before it got to what we have today. The pledge we have today is very similar to the first one even though it was changed multiple times.
Though I believe it's a little silly to pledge your alegance to a flag, I think it's a good idea to encourage the pledge without forcing people to do it. It just shouldn't have been implemented as law. If someone wants to say they love the flag, they should be able to do it in their own time without intruding on valuable class time. I think its a little comedic that the original sign of respect to the flag was a full on Nazi salute.
Personally, I don't mind saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Its a small way to remind ourselves of the sacrifices people have made so that we have the rights we have. I do think its a good way to say the pledge every day. While maybe it doesn't decide if you appreciate, respect, and love your country more then someone else; it is a great way to add healhty patriotisim into daily life.
-
7
-
8
-
9
-
10
-
11
of 11 Next