The Pledge of Allegiance...
“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.”
Every Day in school, I recited the pledge as written above... I had no clue the history, but while I had no problem with pledging allegiance to the country of my birth, I had MANY problems with bringing religion into the matter.
The Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy, who wrote it in 1892, believed in the separation of church and state. In fact, it remained a god-free pledge all the way up until 1954, when the religious right pushed through the change, to reflect that the United States was a solid, Christian country, unlike the Godless Communist Russians we were fighting against.
Francis Bellamy also wanted to include "equality" alongside the liberty and justice we pledged for all, but understood that women and African Americans were not yet considered equal and the pledge would be struck down because of the word's inclusion.
I support taking god back out of the Pledge of Allegiance, and I support adding the word equality... What about you?
(Side-Note: 4th of July Party at my place on Sunday, starting at 5P)