Fox News Backs Up Why I Cringe Every Time I Hear the Pledge of Allegiance

Have you ever thought about the Pledge of Allegiance and compared it to the original vision of the Founding Fathers? I have. There is a line in it that distorts the vision of the Founding Father's so much, that I would rather not ever say the Pledge of Allegiance again. Forget the battle to keep under God in the pledge, because I think you will see.

The union as created by the founding fathers was to consist of sovereign states operating as countries unified for a common defense and trade. That's the only purpose of the federal government. Obviously, it has grown into a monster far beyond what the Founder's envisioned, and if you even try to bring up states' rights and state sovereignty, you are considered a racist since Abraham Lincoln's war of northern aggression, really a war against the 10th Amendment, forever changed the United States for the worst.

We are supposed to be Virginians like Jefferson or Texans like Sam Houston before we are supposed to be Americans. This was how the union was founded. Therefore, when I hear one nation... indivisible, I cringe, because the Founding Fathers knew the threat of secession to hold the powers of the federal government in check was important in limiting the size of government.

Here's what Fox News writes today on the subject:

Our Founding Fathers Would Not Have Recited the Pledge: Another patriotic tradition that gets a lot of attention, particularly around this time of the year, is the Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge did not exist during our Founders' lifetimes -- something that is very clear when looking at its text. The Pledge was written over a century after America's founding in 1892. It was also written by a socialist -- Francis Bellamy, whose original text was: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." According to our Founders, the states are not indivisible, but very much the opposite. In fact, when ratifying the U.S. Constitution, some states, such as Virginia among others, specifically declared the right to secede from the Union should they feel it necessary just as an extra precaution to make sure that that state right was understood. Our Founders took their states rights very seriously and considered the U.S. Constitution to be a compact amongst the sovereign states so that any state could secede if it felt the federal government had become oppressive. So, if not with a pledge, how would our Founding Fathers begin meetings and celebrations? The answer: most likely with a prayer. In fact, the very first resolution brought before the First Continental Congress, and immediately passed, was the declaration that they would open every meeting with a prayer.


So forget Red Skelton's reading of the pledge no matter how much nostalgia it brings. It is wrong, and so is the Pledge of Allegiance.