I am proud to be an American but I am ashamed of my lack knowledge about the things that make us a Great Nation. As a child I remember saying the “Pledge of Allegiance” and singing the “Star Spangled Banner” but unfortunately I do not recall the last time I said or sang either. I am proud of the individuals that serve in our military, and although I did not choose to serve and in all honesty could not have endured it I am thankful and indebted to the brave men and women who protect my rights to live in a country where I am free, I have freedom. I was born in this country so I have not experienced the absence of freedom. Today as I was reading the news I become outraged at an article on CNN Belief Blog, stating “The Air Force makes ‘God’ optional in honor code? Really, where is our line in the sand as it relates to our fundamental facts of this Great Country that has had ‘God’ sown into the very fabric of our nation? I began researching facts of my great nation and I rediscovered some of the knowledge of my youth. I am in favor of immigration but the “why” individuals want to become “Americans” is in my opinion is crucial. When a decision is made to immigrate to America you are accepting “the America” we American’s cherish! America is not for everyone, so don’t come here and then fight to change our history to mold it into something different. Furthermore, why is it that so many Americans think we have to foster to every whim to be politically correct or accepting of changing or minimizing the core values of our country? People, traditions and beliefs can be respected and even be a melting-pot without changing the visions and foundations of our nation, as inspired by our Founding Fathers. What I am trying to say is, I am proud to be an American and for the freedom to say so. Did you know that in the modern motto of the United States of America, was established in a 1956 law signed by President Dwight D Eisenhower, is In God We Trust. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST as a motto for currency (but not as a National motto) first appeared on United States coins in 1864. The 1956 law was the first establishment of an official motto for the country, although E Pluribus Unum (“from many, one”) had been adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782 as the motto for the Seal of the United States and had been used on coins and paper money since 1795. Thus, it had been unofficially considered to be the country’s motto. The change from “E Pluribus Unum” to “In God We Trust” was generally considered uncontroversial at the time given the pressures of the Cold War era. The constitutionality of the modern national motto has been questioned with relationship to the separation of church and state outlined in the First Amendment. In 1970, in Aronow v. United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the motto does not violate the First Amendment to the Constitution. The United States Supreme Court has not ruled on the issue. A similar phrase appears in the final stanza of The Star-Spangled Banner. Written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key (and later adopted as the U.S. national anthem on March 3, 1931 by US president Herbert Hoover), the song contains an early reference to a variation of the phrase: “And this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’”
The Pledge of Allegiance
By Francis Bellamy 1892
“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.”
Official versions of the Pledge of Allegiance
(Changes in bold italics)
1892: “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
1892 to 1922: “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
1923: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States, and to the republic for which it stands; one Nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”
1924 to 1954: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands; one Nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”
1954 to Present: “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.”
The Star Spangled Banner
By: Francis Scott Key 1814
Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
In closing, thank you for reading my blog and whether you agree with me or not, I am thankful to be in a country that enables me to share my views freely.
~Peace and Blessings~
References:
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/25/air-force-makes-god-optional-in-honor-code/
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-eisenhower-signs-in-god-we-trust-into-law
http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm
My Soldier
I have freedom, not because it is free
My freedom comes from the sacrifices of many
Sacrifices of generations before me
And those who currently face daily conflicts
Most are braver than I ever hope to be
But because of them I am free
Bravery is a character trait
Of all those individuals who fight for me
They fight for people they love dearly
They fight for ones they will never meet
The fight is personal and public
Its connectivity to the threads that bind us as Americans
The face of my soldier will continue mostly elusive to me
The actions of my soldier, forever grateful I will be for my freedoms
For all those who have sacrificed of themselves for the betterment of other
I say thank you and if I say it from now to eternity, it will never be enough
But, I know it is not for the pleasantries that you do what you do
You do it because it is your very character, your call in this lifetime
I have freedom, not because it is free…
~Charlotte A. Robinson~
01/09/2009
HOPE SEEKER 