I Pledge Allegiance
A News Response Poem
To the flag The first version of the Pledge of Allegiance was written by the Baptist minister and Christian socialist Francis Bellamy for the Columbian Exposition in October 1892 to mark the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas. It was originally published in The Youth's Companion on September 8, 1892. Bellamy had hoped that the pledge would be used by citizens in any country. of the United States of America U·nit·ed / joined together politically, for a common purpose, or by common feelings. The pledge was used by many Americans for decades, but was not officially recognized by the US government until 1942. And to the republic for which it stands Re·pub·lic / noun / a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch. After the Pledge gained in popularity, it was decided that a salute to accompany its recitation would be appropriate. Instructions for carrying out a salute – consisting of a straight, outstretched arm – were printed in the pages of Youth’s Companion. The gesture came to be called the Bellamy Salute. One nation na·tion / a large body of people united common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory. During World War II, the Bellamy salute became problematic as it was easily confused with the straight-armed salutes of Europe's dictatorships. In 1942 -- the same year it was officially adopted by Congress -- Congress decided the pledge should be recited with the hand on the heart instead. under God On June 14, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill to insert the phrase “under God” into the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance that children recited every morning in school. Previously, the pledge had contained no reference to religion. The Knights of Columbus and other groups, as well as Eisenhower, lobbied for the change. indivisible In·di·vis·i·ble /ˌindəˈvizəb(ə)l/ adjective unable to be divided or separated. In 1923, the National Flag Conference, sponsored by the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution, changed the words “my flag” to “the flag of the United States” because some foreign-born people might have in mind the flag of the country of their birth, instead of the U.S. flag. with liberty lib·er·ty /ˈlibərdē/ noun / the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views A year later, in 1924, “of America” was added after “United States.” and justice jus·tice /ˈjəstəs/ noun / just behavior or treatment. Section 7 of the Federal Flag Code states that when not in military uniform, men should remove any headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, thereby resting the hand over the heart. People in military uniform should remain silent, face the flag and render the military salute. for all all /ôl/ predeterminer · determiner · pronoun / used to refer to the whole quantity or extent of a particular group or thing / every member or individual component of The Flag Code specifies that any future changes to the pledge would have to be with the consent of the president.
Author’s Note: Like many people, I have spent a lot of time recently thinking about how one truly understands and interprets history, the original intention of our nation and states’ founders, and how our country and citizens manage evolution and incorporate change into our culture and political process. I’m not sure this is actually poem, but it is a reflection on what it means to make a pledge to a flag. I would be interested to hear your thoughts.
You can read more about the Pledge of Allegiance and the Bellamy Salute here:
https://www.cnn.com/2013/12/22/opinion/greene-pledge-of-allegiance-salute/
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That photo is chilling. I had no idea that was ever done. We always put our hands over our hearts. I believe in first grade we also sang "America," but I don't remember doing that later. This was an informative poem. And yes, you can call it a poem. So much experimentation is going on in the poetry world anymore.
I was thinking about the flag today, for obvious reasons, and it bothers me that I don't feel comfortable flying one. That is because the US flag is now being used by radical groups to push a dangerous agenda down our throats. That makes me downright mad. I feel like they've taken a piece of my America away from me.
We in a rural school in the mountains of Wyoming stood by our desks and saluted the American flag with 48 stars each morning as we said the Pledge or Allegiance without knowing what allegiance meant but with proud intention. We also sang the song, America. I remember when we learned that President Eisenhower added "under God" to the pledge and that was fine with us.