Pledge of Allegiance Brouhaha

There has been quite a lot of public outcry at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, which requires a separation of church and state.

It is hard to deny that pledging to be 'One nation, under God' amounts to, at least, some measure of governmental endorsement. If not of a specific religion, at least of the idea of religion in general.

The people that are upset by this ruling have complained that while the Pledge of Allegiance under traditional Supreme Court tests is probably unconstitutional, it has been with us for so long, and is too much a part of our culture to let go of.

And I agree with both of their points. The pledge was written in 1892 and read as such:

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

It was written by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, who was the chairman of a committee of state superintendents of education in the National Education Association. He labored long and hard to sum up the best things about our country, for the students to recite during the Flag Day ceremonies that year.

This simple, but heart felt pledge soon became popular not only in our country but also with our allies. Bellamy had worked towards this goal and this was the reason that he phrased it "I pledge allegiance to my Flag..."

In 1924 the words, "my Flag" were changed to "the Flag of the United States of America." Bellamy protested this change, but his protests were ignored by the American Legion and the DAR who were lobbying for the change.

In 1954 the words "under God" were added as a result of Knights of Columbus lobbying.

So to all of those that want to 'save' the Pledge for traditions sake, I propose we roll back the wording to the original to the way it was before committees second guessed the wisdom of a man who was just trying to reinforce the idea that all governments should strive to provide Liberty and Justice to all regardless of country or religion. And the only way that these things can be provided is by all of us pledging everyday to accept nothing less.

Pledge History (audio) - News story from NPR's All Things Considered.
The Pledge of Allegiance, A Short History by Dr. John W. Baer
Pledge of Allegiance 'Unconstitutional' - An ABCNEWS.com news item.