Pledge of Allegiance ...

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

September 8, 1892

" The Pledge of Allegiance" to the United States of America was written by a former Baptist preacher, Francis Bellamy (1855-1931). It only took Mr. Bellamy three hours to write the original 23 words in honor of the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovering America. . As published in Youth's Companion, the first version read, "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."


He was forced to leave his Boston church the previous year because of the socialist bent of his sermons. (He shared the political sentiments of his first cousin, Edward Bellamy, who wrote two socialist utopian novels, Looking Backward (2000 to 1887) and Equality.) Francis Bellamy was later hired by the The Youth's Companion, a popular family magazine at the time. His writings reflected a Christian Socialist vision of a government-managed economy with "political, social and economic equality for all."


While writing for the journal, he was also on the Massachusetts State Education Board and was charged with organizing the state's Columbus Day celebrations in 1892. He decided to craft a pledge that school children would say aloud in front of the flag -- a pledge that would reflect his socialist beliefs. Mr. Bellamy considered using the word "equality" as well, but was aware that several members of his education committee were firmly against equal rights for women and African Americans. The phrase "under God," which was added by President Eisenhower in 1954, would not have met with Mr. Bellamy's approval. In his later years, Mr. Bellamy stopped attending services, dismayed by the openly racist sentiments of his church.

The U. S. Constitution:It isn't about what people can do it's about what goverment can do

The right to privacy

The Constitution does not mention a right to privacy. However, Supreme Court decisions over the years have established that the right to privacy is a basic human right, and as such is protected by virtue of the 9th Amendment. The right to privacy has come to the public's attention via several controversial Supreme Court rulings, including several dealing with contraception (the Griswold and Eisenstadt cases), interracial marriage (the Loving case), and abortion (the well-known Roe v. Wade case). In addition, it is said that a right to privacy is inherent in many of the amendments in the Bill of Rights, such as the 3rd, the 4th's search and seizure limits, and the 5th's self- incrimination limit.

The separation of church and state

The phrase "separation of church and state" does not appear anywhere in the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson wrote that the 1st Amendment erected a "wall of separation" between the church and the state (James Madison said it "drew a line," but it is Jefferson's term that sticks with us today). The phrase is commonly thought to mean that the government should not establish, support, or otherwise involve itself in any religion, though it is more accurate to say that the 1st Amendment prohibits the government from establishing a national religion, and protects the individual's right to worship, or not worship, however the individual sees fit.

Jury of Peers

There is no such right as a jury of my peers mentioned in the Constitution. The Constitution does take up the issue of juries, however. It is the nature of the jury which is not in the Constitution. In Article 3, Section 2, the Constitution requires that all criminal trials be heard by a jury. It also specifies that the trial will be heard in the state the crime was committed. The 6th Amendment narrows the definition of the jury by requiring it to be "impartial." Note that no-where is a jury "of peers" guaranteed. Strictly speaking, it could be prohibitively difficult to gather juries of peers - the definition of a "peer" would have to be worked out. Is a peer someone of the same age, sex, race, religion, class, standing, or profession? Fortunately, juries need only be impartial, and not of one's peers, else the jury system would be unworkable.

Marriage

A lot of controversy swirls around the topic of marriage as homosexual marriage entered the news, again. In 1999, the Vermont Supreme Court ordered that the state must make accommodations for gay unions, bringing the issue into the public eye. Vermont created civil unions as a result. In 2004, the Massachusetts Supreme Court went a step further, and ruled that the state must accommodate not just an institution equal to marriage, as civil union was designed to be, but that gay marriage itself must be offered in the state. Subsequently, mayors in New York and California BEGAN to offer gay marriage in their towns and cities, citing civil rights concerns. Those opposed to gay marriage began to urge that an amendment to the Constitution be created to define marriage as being between a man and a woman only. Opponents of the amendment pointed to the failed Prohibition Amendment as a reason why such social issues should stay out of the Constitution. In the absence of any such amendment, however, marriage is not mentioned in the Constitution at any point.

Judicial Review

We often hear about the Supreme Court striking down a law or a provision in a law, or, more often, reaffirming some law or provision. Take a look in the Constitution - judicial review, as this is known, is nowhere to be found. It seems like a perfectly normal action - after all, what kind of check does the Judicial Branch have on the other two branches if laws and orders cannot be declared unconstitutional. But judicial review is not specifically mentioned. So how did judicial review come to be? In the landmark case of Marbury v. Madison (1803), Chief Justice John Marshall declared a federal law, the Judiciary Act of 1789, to be unconstitutional, and thus null and void. This was the first time a Supreme Court ruling overturned a law.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Commonly attributed to the Constitution, it comes from the Declaration of Independence.

Of the people, by the people, for the people

Commonly attributed to the Constitution, it comes from the Gettysburg Address.

Immigrants, not Americans, must adapt!

Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the "politically correct" crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others. I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost entirely comprised of descendants of immigrants. However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand.

This idea of America, being a multi -cultural community, has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.

We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language! ENGLISH. "In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, and political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, of Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is and always will be part of our culture.

If the Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don't like Uncle Sam, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. Remember, "Delta is ready when you are and they can have you there by nightfall".

This is OUR COUNTRY, our land, and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every citizen the right to express his opinion and we will allow you every opportunity to do so. But, once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our pledge, our national motto, or our way of life, I highly encourage you to take advantage of one other great American freedom, THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

Effectiveness of American Businesses

A series of studies on the overall effectiveness of American businesses have concluded that if a soccer team functioned as do most businesses only four of the eleven players on the field would know which goal is theirs. Only two of the eleven would care. Only two of the eleven would know what position they play and know exactly what they are supposed to do. And all but two players would in some way, be competing against their own team members rather than the opponent.

We hear CEOs testify in court that they have no idea what is happening within their companies.

It appears that the lowly employee is not the only ones who are not sure what they should be doing.