June 14 – Pause for the Pledge Day

Posted on June 14, 2017

Today is Flag Day in the United States. Some Americans also celebrate Pause for the Pledge today; pausing whatever they are doing at 7 p.m. and reciting the 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."

Hmmm....

Each nation having a different national flag is pretty cool - it helps keep international sports colorful and helps us to quickly figure out, say, which astronaut or fencer we are looking at.

But pledging allegiance to a flag? Doesn't that seem a bit troubling?

Apparently, most people in the world do not recite a pledge to their flags or nations. The one group that regularly DOES recite a pledge is North Koreans. Starting at age seven, kids in North Korea are required to pledge their allegiance to their ruler (and swearing allegiance to a leader is even more troubling!). 

Back in the day, Hitler's and Mussolini's followers pledged their allegiance to their leaders with the same salute American kids used to use toward the flag. It wasn't long before Americans stopped using this salute, after it was adopted by the Nazis.

Above, American kids in Connecticut saluting the flag.
Below, German citizens saluting Hitler.

These days, most people around the world consider a mandated oath of allegiance to be too nationalistic, even fascist. And I think I agree. I am glad that the Supreme Court ruled that saying the pledge cannot be required - but I am aware of the fact that many school teachers probably make it SEEM required. Most little kids do not want to be the only one not saying the pledge. I am glad that some schools do not have this morning ritual.

I am glad, actually, that many elected officials in America have to pledge to uphold the Constitution. That seems like a good promise to make, and I wish that more elected officials actually did a better job of upholding the Constitution!

In that same vein, I think it would be a better ritual for average citizens to recite an oath of loyalty to the Constitution. Here is a pretty cool version of the pledge:

I pledge allegiance to the Constitution, and to the Republic it creates, one nation, indivisible, seeking liberty and justice for all.

But pledging allegiance and loyalty to a leader is a no-no, and pledging allegiance to a flag seems to me to be just about as "iffy."

The world is moving, more and more, to a more global and interconnected viewpoint. Patriotism - being proud of one's country - is fine, of course, but extreme nationalism is ugly. Feeling that one's own nation is far superior to all others in all ways is to believe falsehoods.

 We need fewer outward symbols of love-of-country, like waving flags and singing "God Bless America," but we need more actual actions that demonstrate love of country, like protecting the natural wonders, caring for the most vulnerable, and honoring veterans with job assistance and excellent health care. 

 

Also on this date:

Malawi Freedom Day  

Children's Day in the U.S.

Magic Circle Day

Family History Day

Liberation Day in the Falkland Islands 

Flag Day in the United States

Birthday of John Bartlett of “Bartlett's Familiar Quotations”

Day of Mourning in the Baltic Nations

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

• June holidays

• June birthdays

• Historical anniversaries in June

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• July holidays
• July birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in July
  
  
  

December 28, 2011 - Pledge of Allegiance Day

-- United States

On this day in 1945, U.S. Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance as an American flag salute. The original pledge was written by Baptist minister Francis Bellamy half a century before, for a public school program. Bellamy apparently never considered putting in a line about God (the words “under God” were added to the pledge in the 1950s), but he did want to include the word “equality.” Because Bellamy knew that powerful people who would see the program were against equality for women and for black people, he backed off from his good idea and simply wrote:

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Did you know that in Bellamy's day
(late 1800s and early 1900s),
children saluted the flag
with a straight, upraised arm?
Can you guess why that was
changed to another quite different salute?

In the 1920s, the National Flag Conference changed Bellamy's words “my Flag” to the phrase “the Flag of the United States of America.”  Bellamy disliked the change and protested it. Bellamy's granddaughter has said that he would also have resented the addition of the words “under God.” Apparently he had been pressured into leaving his job of minister because of his socialist ideas; eventually he left the Baptist church altogether.

Some people want to change the pledge to a version close to Bellamy's original concept:

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with equality, liberty, and justice for all.”

By the way, did you know that the Supreme Court ruled that nobody can require others to salute the flag or say the pledge? In 1940, the court ruled by an eight to one vote that the government could make people show respect for the flag because it was the central symbol of national unity. But just three years later, by a six to three vote, it reversed its ruling, saying that the right to free speech guaranteed in the First Amendment meant that people did not have to salute the flag or say the pledge.

(These court decisions were in response to children whose families were Jehovah's Witness. The kids felt that reciting the pledge would go against the teachings of their religion—but they were expelled from school for their refusal to participate. Some school kids today who don't participate in reciting the pledge say that their refusal is due to the fact that they do not believe in God, and don't want to pledge with the words “under God.”)

Also on this date:

Anniversary of chewing gum patent 

Anniversary of dishwasher patent 

They're Always Changing the Map Day