Justice is a tricky word and many people like to think they fully understand the meaning of it. Justice may mean one thing to one person and something else to a different person. Many people have the concept of justice. However, even the dictionary’s description of justice was based upon what either one person or a small group of people decided justice should be. “The Pledge of Allegiance”, which was created so many years ago, meant something to the people who recited it. Today the Pledge is nothing more than some sort of entertainment. According to John Bear “ The Pledge was published in the September 8th issue of The Youth’s Companion, the leading magazine and the Reader’s Digest of its day. Its owner and editor, Daniel Ford, had hired Francis in 1891 as his assistant when Francis was pressured into leaving his Baptist church in Boston because of his socialist sermons. As a member of his congregation, Ford had enjoyed Francis’s sermons. Ford later founded the liberal and often controversial Ford Hall Forum, Located in downtown Boston”(1). A man practically kicked out of church for being a socialist. How barbaric can we get? I can certainly see why he needed some sort of comfort in his mind. Baer goes on to write: “His original Pledge read as follows: ‘I pledge allegiance to my Flag and (to*) the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’ He considered placing the word, ‘equality,’ in his pledge, but knew that the state superintendents of education on his committee were against equality for women and African Americans. {* ‘to’ added in October, 1982}” (1) The Pledge meant something to this man who wrote it and he wanted to create equality but was stopped by the men in charge, namely the white males, who like to hold power. Baer brings up some interesting questions when he writes, “The true reason for allegiance to the Flag is the ‘republic for which it stands.’…And what does that vast thing, the Republic mean? It is the concise political word for the nation-the One Nation which the Civil War was fought to prove. To make that One Nation idea clear, we must specify that it is indivisible, as Webster and Lincoln used to repeat in their great speeches. And its future?”(2). Yes, what does “The Republic” mean? Back when the Pledge was written, it meant equality to white men. Egolf likes to pick apart the Pledge and he does it quite well when he comments “ ‘I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands…’Take out the flag part, and you get, ‘ I pledge allegiance to the Republic.’ Almost sounds the oath you would expect to give to the French Foreign Legion. What does it mean to pledge allegiance? You ally yourself with the Federal Government. When Congress passes a bill, you stand by it, you support it one hundred percent. You fight for them, you make the Gub’mint aware of people who are not following the law, people who are trying to to be subversive and change things. People like me”(1) Eric Egolf renounced the Pledge of Allegiance and suggests that we all do the same. It is quite obvious the Pledge is less meaningful today then when it was written. John E. Appleseed gives a heartfelt welcome in “America--We are of Many Global Origins” to everyone when he said: “Citizens and residents of the USA who are true to universal truths that are the foundation of our country, truths which are clearly worded in our Constitution’s Bill of Right, cannot help but take pride in our country’s myriad unique cultures; especially when people feel safe and there is respect and acceptance among us. For all of our diversity we are nonetheless cohesive. We are united on concerns of common good for others who are true to American Ideal of Freedom and Responsible Citizenship, and for the security of the country. All such good people, regardless of the differences that ultimately work to bind Americans together, making this country’s plurality uniquely special, are learning to celebrate one another’s participation in safeguarding the United States of America”(1). Well isn’t that just nice? Appleseed is addressing the citizens and the residents of the United States and that includes terrorists. Appleseed is later quoted saying, “And please know this, those here in the U.S. who threaten and attack any of our complement of citizens and residents who are cut from the same immoral fabric as terrorists anywhere. Be assured that the global war against terrorism is and must be as much against our own terrorists as it is Osama Bin Laden and others like him who plot to eliminate freedom-loving peoples”(2) I honestly have no idea what Appleseed is trying to say. First Appleseed gives everyone a warm welcome then says that terrorists are bad and people who hurt other citizens or their residents of the United States who are cut from the same fabric as terrorists. Which fabric is that? Am I supposed to just welcome anyone including terrorists just because they reside here? And what is all this talk about freedom-loving people? Freedom-loving people...who are they, the hippies? Freedom-loving people from other countries are the reason why the United States got its ass kicked on September 11, 2001.
Again Baer brings up some interesting points when he says: “How did this Pledge of Allegiance to a flag replace the US Constitution and Bill of rights in the affections of many Americans? Among the nations in the world, only the USA and the Philippines, imitating the USA, have a pledge to their flag. Who institutionalized the Pledge as the cornerstone of American patriotic programs and indoctrinations in the public and parochial schools?”(1) Baer said: “The original Pledge was recited while giving a stiff, uplifted right-hand salute, criticized and discontinues during WWII. The words ‘my flag’ were changed to ‘the flag of the United States of America’ because it was feared that the children of immigrants might confuse ‘my flag’ for the flag of their homeland. The phrase ‘Under God,’ was added by Congress and President Eisenhower in 1954 at the urging of the Knights of Columbus”(2). When the pledge was created it meant to serve a purpose for the rights of the individual citizens, or shall I say the individual white male citizens of the United States of America. When it was changed so that immigrants would clearly pledge allegiance to our flag, it became a source for treason.
Not even American children fully understood the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance if at all. Baer later says: “Allegiance has become a major centerpiece in American patriotism programs. A pledge or loyalty oath for children was not built around the Declaration of Independence—“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” Or the Gettysburg address—“a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal…””(3) Not all men are created equal, let alone women. We allow ourselves and our children to recite the Pledge because it is tradition, not because we believe in justice for all. I believe Appleseed is mistaken when he writes “the enriched Pledge of Allegiance (Citizenship) addresses the meaning of our Flag in such a way that each child and adult who recites the words cannot help but learn and hopefully come to cherish what our country represents as a nation based upon the Bill of Rights and Constitution.” The pledge was not made based on the Bill of Rights it was made to help out some poor white man who got booted out of church for being a socialist. The pledge had great meaning when it was created and even more meaning when it was revised. However, now it is not so meaningful. “The Essayist” gives a good example of what I am talking about when he writes: “A national suspicion developed over the idea of domestic Communism and it was egged on by this fascist’s sensation—but baseless—attacks. One consequence of this paranoia was requiring loyalty oaths as a condition of employment for certain jobs—including education. Most of these oaths included whatever a local administrator decided should be required of a good American Citizen”(1). I thought that being an American citizen gave a person the right to choose what they wanted and the freedom of speech. The last time I checked, Freedom of Speech meant I could say something I wanted to and also that I could choose not to say anything at all. “The Essayist” later tells the story of a citizen of the United States: “Flip the calendar ahead several decades to April 1, 1998. Near San Diego, high school sophomore Mary Kait Durkee thought about what the American Pledge of Allegiance means, and decided to forgo reciting it with the rest of her history class. In her opinion, the U.S. government is corrupt and does not deserver her loyalty. She also does not believe in ‘one nation under God’ since she is an Atheist”(2) Now then, isn’t that her right as a citizen to pledge her allegiance or rather, not pledge allegiance, to a flag? I would like to think so. And yet people like her are being put in the same category as terrorists. Is that justice? I think not.
Ran-Chan brings up an interesting theory when he says: “ A man in his power who has power but hardly has loyalty and a country going into shambles, if he is the kind of man who uses his power to benefit himself what would he do? We know power corrupts and people who have power believe themselves to be above the law. Take a look at former President Bill Clinton. He is in the White House getting his groove on and nothing happens to him. If President Bush wanted to eliminate terrorists to make himself look good and further strengthen the stronghold of the United States embassy on the world to make him look good with a disaster like the one that occurred on September 11 of 2001. Saotme goes on to say: “This major tragedy put America, which was falling apart, back together under him. He leads us through this, he attacks terrorists, he brings unity and good throughout the United States and he is the hero. Bush is the one who led us through September 11 and he comes out on top. The Pledge was important when it was created because people actually cared about America, not like today. Without September 11 would flags be everywhere? Would we be so patriotic to our heritage? Would we be so into the Constitution? Usually only a handful of people would be so patriotic not the whole nation. The Pledge of Allegiance is an oath to America who support a select majority and that is what the republic the government and the democracy is based upon.” The select majority is the people who run this country, that is who the Constitution and what the Pledge of Allegiance was written for. When it was written, it wasn’t written for women or African Americans. It was basically written for white males. It presents the illusion of bringing a country together, but it just serves a select majority like today. The Republic, government, and democracy were why it was written.
A democracy is “by the people, for the people.” We select representatives but those representatives are taking all our money and they’re only serving themselves. If a senator or congressman from any state takes home $200,000 a year, they’re going to take home that $200,00 every year until they die, while we struggle with social security. A prime example is that of a man who has recently been in the news. He was wrongfully convicted of murder he did not commit because of corrupt policemen who had evidence that wasn’t permitted because it proved his innocence. There were several witnesses that testified he was somewhere else when the murder occurred. He spent 9 years in prison and finally, after a certain task force retried many cases to see if they were legitimate or not, and he was acquitted. However, he faces another threat to his freedom. It appears he is going to be put back in jail for not paying child support for the last 9 years due to the so-called justice in America. There is no justice. Justice is an illusion.
Work Cited
Appleseed, John E. “Does the Pledge of Allegiance remain true to it’s purpose.” Flagship
Earth Foundation. 26 Oct. 2001.30 Nov. 2001
http://pledge-of-allegiance.net/pledge-of- allegiance_nurturing.html.
Appleseed, John E. “Americans--We are of many Global Origins.” Flagship Earth Foundation. 26 Oct. 2001.30 Nov. 2001
http://pledge-of-allegiance.net/pledge-of- allegiance_americans.html.
Baer, John W. “A Short History.” The Pledge of Allegiance. 1992. 30 Nov. 2001
http://www.vineyard/history/pledge.html.
Baer, John W. “The Strange Origin of the Pledge of Allegiance.” Propaganda Review.
1990. 30 Nov. 2001 http://www.cwu.edu/~millerj/jack/flag.html.
Egolf, Eric J. “My renouncing of the Pledge of Allegiance (and yours too).” Prolefeed.
1998. 30 Nov. 2001 http://www.prolefeed.com/soapbox/pledge.html.
Essayist. “What America is Not About.” What America is not About. 6 June 1998. 30
Nov. 2001 http://unquietmind.com/loyalty.html.
Ramirez, Paul AKA Ran-Chan. “Bush’s Conspiracy Theory.” Conspiracy Theory. 2 Dec. 2001. 2 Dec. 2001
