A Pledge of Allegiance for Everyone
Part one:
Seventy-three years ago, Congress put the United States in a difficult situation. It concerned the Pledge of Allegiance. They decided to add the phrase “Under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance which started a great amount of controversy among people. Some people argument that since “under God” was never a part of the original Pledge of Allegiance and many US citizens don't believe in a god at all. Any pledge they may make 'under god' would be irrational and irrelevant. But the rest have a different idea about the problem. They believe the U.S. is a nation founded by religious persons and Americans are joined by great ties to multiple religions, so there should be no separation of church and state. They want to keep the “Under God” in the pledge. Gwen Wilde, a student at Tufts University, explains this issue in her essay, “Why the Pledge of Allegiance Should Be Revised”. She says “the addition of the words ‘under God’ is inappropriate, and they are needlessly
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Following Goodwin’s position, she argues that the phrase “under God” is offensive because saying “one nation under God” does not cover all the religions; therefore, the phrase “under God” can’t be neutral with respect to all religious. The phrase “under God” does not accurately represent all religions. She explains that since many Americans don’t believe in god, appealing to logic rather than emotion convince them this phrase doesn’t represent all religions. The government should realize keeping the phrase or changing it won’t make it right. The only way to fix this issue is by removing the Phrase “under God” from the Pledge of
The original Pledge of Allegiance was meant as an expression of patriotism, not religious faith and made no mention of God. The pledge was written in 1892 by the socialist Francis Bellamy. He wrote it for the popular magazine Youth's Companion on the occasion of the nation's first celebration of Columbus Day. It’s wording omitted reference not only to God but also to the United States. “Under God” should be removed from the pledge for purposes of creating equality in different beliefs and allowing each American their right laid out in the constitution. These are the original words to the Pledge of Allegiance.
Did you know that in most public schools, students recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day? As an attendant of a public school, one would come in every morning and before starting class, one would recite the pledge just like any other day. Most Americans are familiar with the words to the Pledge of Allegiance, but recently, a commotion has brewed over two words, “under God,” which were added in 1954. To little surprise, “under God” does not have to be spoken. It is completely optional to say the Pledge, yet this has become a huge controversy spiraling into lawsuits and heated debates. The phrase “under God” does not imply nor enforce any doctrine on Americans; it simply represents the fact that this nation was built with
One of the most controversial issues, if “Under God” should remain in the pledge, and if children should be required to say it, went to court a few weeks ago. The argument was brought to court by Michael Newdow, the father to the girl on whose behalf the lawsuit was brought forward. Newdow argued in court and on many different public speaking occasions that knowing his child is being led to say “One nation under God” on a daily basis makes him feel “Disenfranchised”. (Hamilton, Marci A. CNN Special). He points out that “The Pledge, which has “liberty for all” is being used to inculcate his daughter in a religious worldview he cannot accept”. (Hamilton, Marci A. CNN Special). This means
From a young age, I remember starting a school day by standing, facing the American flag with my right hand placed over my heart, and reciting the pledge of allegiance. The pledge was as follows, “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”, however, that was not always how it was worded. The Pledge of Allegiance that many Americans know today has been rewritten many times, by the United States' government. Moreover, the language of the Pledge was changed in a straightforward way for American citizens to show their patriotism for America.
Another argument would be, the words “under God” are referring to the Christian God. What about my God or Gods? The whole point of stating “under God” in the pledge of allegiance isn’t about whose God it is supposed to support, freedom of religion will support all religions, but rather to love America.
Today some people within this country believe that this song should not be in the schools at all for several different reasons. One of the reasons is the part of the song that says “Under God”. This is a big issue because in the first Amendment you are allowed to have freedom of religion. Now this pledge is saying that this country is “Under God” but saying this says that you believe in God and not
In the essay “Why the Pledge of Allegiance should be Revised,” Gwen Wilde argues that the Pledge of Allegiance should be altered to better fit the image of Americans.Wilde states that the phrase “under God” should be removed due to the fact that only 70 to 80 percent of Americans “say they are affiliated with some form of Christianity,” and that the other 20 to 30 percent are unable to say the phrase “in good faith.” Wilde wrote her essay for a composition course at Tufts University. The following is a summary of her essay.
All throughout the United States, people recite the pledge of allegiance but what they do not see is that the nation was not exactly built on religion itself. American Evangelicals hold a strong belief that the United States was formed through traditional Christian ideals and look to the invocation of God's words in pieces of government. After all, with words like "God and "our creator," one may assume that traditional Christian values were upheld in the creation of the United States political system. However, because of the Enlightenment movement, roughly most of the founding fathers were not practicing Christians. The founding fathers often dabbled in skepticism of theocratic dogma and stood for religious toleration. America's founding fathers were influenced by a kind of
“The words "under God" were added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 to show the world the stark contrast between the United States of America and the Communist regime.” The words show the relationship between our country and our social system. This also shows that more than half of the country approved adding in the words “under god.” “The men who created our government were men of strong faith.” The men who created the government understood the rights that we inherit from God. Although our freedom does not come from government but, being a Christian in the government must of helped America get its freedom. In 1954, 80% of the country supported having “Under God” in the pledge, so it should
The Pledge of Allegiance is a statement that many students in the U.S. learn at a young age. Without question of its origin and meaning, most students restate the flag salute often, if not daily. Historically, the pledge that is said today is a result of revisions of various pledges. The first pledge was written by Colonel George Bach in 1887 and was used in some schools. Five years following, Francis Bellamy, who was an English speaking immigrant, Baptist minister, and a socialist created another pledge. This pledge was the foundation for the pledge that is said today. It read, “‘I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all’”("The Pledge of Allegiance: A Search for Common Ground”). Bellamy’s pledge was first published in a children’s magazine. The goal for the establishment of this pledge was to teach young children the basic ideals of the U.S. constitution. The evolution of the pledge did not end for over fifty years. Through debates on whether or not the words “under God” should be added, the final pledge as stated today reads, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, under God, for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” ("The Pledge of Allegiance: A Search for Common Ground”). As outlined
“I pledge allegiance to my flag and for the republic for which it stands: one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” This was the original pledge, it should also be the current pledge. When President Eisenhower was in office in 1954, he made it law that “under God” was to be put in the pledge. It was not until Judge Alfred T. Goodwin argued that those two words violated one of the most important parts of the first amendment to many American citizens. Many people come to America to seek religious freedom. It is evident that “Under God” should be taken out of the pledge by showing that it goes against the first amendment, it has had an affect on our history, and it can confuse young kids in school.
Many people ask if we should keep “under god” in the pledge of allegiance. We should keep it in there because it has been in there since the pledge was ever invented, It is a national symbol for American society. The pledge of allegiance has nothing to do with church or state. It is a patriotic saying to show our loyalty to our country and show support to our troops. If it wasn't for the pledge of allegiance this country would have nothing to stand up for. I feel that if it offends people to say the pledge the way it was written then they shouldn’t say it at all. If they have a problem with the way our pledge is written they don’t have to say it at all. The pledge is being said less and
Their are people that want to make it to where they take the pledge out of the school system. They believe that it is pushing others that don't believe to believe. I think that they should not take it away because that disrespects our military and our entire country. We should keep the pledge because the pledge says nothing about believes it just simply states the word “God.” If you simply do not like to say the pledge, then why are you living in this country? Yes, it is a free country, but that does not mean we can do whatever we would like.
I am against the words under god in our pledge. God has been a part of our history for quite a while, but he is in no way a part of our government. For those that do not know our Pledge was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, and although he may have been a Baptist minister, he made no hint towards god, or any higher power in the early pledge. That truly says something to the world. It portrays a sense of pride in America that did not come off as fascist, but of course pride eventually does evolve into fascism. In the 1950s the words under god were added to the Pledge of Allegiance because we felt that godless communists were going to ruin our American way of life. It was like a phobia had overcome America, and words would save us. It is one
Under God. Two words that have kindled so much controversy within our country. This is a heated argument that has began before we were even born. Many people argue that “under God” being in the Pledge is offensive towards others and their religions. Their viewpoint is that we need to respect others’ religious differences. The opposing side argues that “under God” is not offending others. I believe that the words, “Under God” should remain in the Pledge of Allegiance because the word God is symbolic to the faith and history of our nation, taking these words out will prompt conflict, and the phrase is not offensive.