"Be Proud Of The Pledge"

[thedrifter]

> From a speech made by Capt. John S. McCain,
> US, (Ret) who represents Arizona in the U.S. Senate:
>
> As you may know, I spent five and one half years
> as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the
> early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in
> solitary confinement or two or three to a cell.
> In 1971 the NVA moved us from these
> conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as
> 30 to 40 men to a room. This was, as you can imagine,
> a wonderful change and was a direct result of the
> efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few
> hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.
>
> One of the men who moved into my room was a
> young man named Mike Christian. Mike came from a
> small town near Selma, Alabama.
> He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was 13
> years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later
>earned a commission by going to Officer Training
>School. Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and
>was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen
>and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country
>and our military provide for people who want to work
>and want to succeed.
>
> As part of the change in treatment, the vietnamese
> allowed some prisoners to receive packages from
>home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs,
>scarves and other items of clothing. Mike got himself a
>bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months,
>he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of
>his shirt.
> Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we
> would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say
> the Pledge of Allegiance. I know the Pledge of
> Allegiance may not seem the most important part of
> our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell
> it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.
>
> One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as
> they did periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with
> the flag sewn inside, and removed it.
> That evening they returned, opened the door of
> the cell, and for the benefit of all of us, beat Mike
> Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then,
> they opened the door of the cell and threw him in.
> We cleaned him up as well as we could.
>
> The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in
> the middle on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs
> hung in each corner of the room. As I said, we tried to
>clean up Mike as well as we could. After the excitement
>died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and
> sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of
> red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my
>friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his
>eyes almost shut from the beating he had received,
> making another American flag.
>
> He was not making the flag because it made
> Mike Christian feel better.
> He was making that flag because he knew how
> important it was to us to be able to Pledge our
> allegiance to our flag and country.
>
> So the next time you say the Pledge of
> Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and
> courage that thousands of Americans have made
> to build our nation and promote freedom around the
> world.
> You must remember our duty, our honor, and our
> country.
>
> "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."

Sempers,

Roger

[NamGrunt68]

"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."

[mrbsox]

Still getting choked up and tearey eyed sometimes when I think about 9-11, and now this crap comes out of our own court system. And tha posting from 'Race' whoever.

If HE doesn't agree with the CONSTITUTION that he SWORE to defend, HE needs to decide who's flag he wants to defend. AND anybody else out there !

When we were on liberty in some other country, we were warned about their laws, customs, AND consequenses (sorry bout the spelling). Why the hell can't we do the same. Is THAT unConstitutional too !!!!!!!! (steam from ears)

Whew, I feel better already

Thanks.... and UNDER GOD

[NamGrunt68]

Why "Under God" Must Remain in the Pledge of Allegiance
By Eric Buehrer

This article offers four points to remember when explaining to
friends why "under God" must remain in the Pledge of Allegiance.
While many people "feel" that reciting the Pledge is good, we must
help them understand why it is a good thing to do. It is up to us to
help our friends and neighbors, our children and their teachers,
understand the meaning of the Pledge.

This is a pivotal moment for our society. Court cases like the Ninth
Circuit's decision to ban the Pledge of Allegiance from schools
foster public debate and can gradually sway public opinion. What was
once a "given" is now "questionable." The Supreme Court may find that
the lower court was wrong. But, some school officials may decide not
to have children recite the Pledge anyway because, "On second
thought, it may be insensitive and intolerant in our multicultural
society. Maybe, a mere recitation of the phrase 'United We Stand'
would be more inclusive."
Here are four points I suggest you make as you talk about the Pledge:

1. Thomas Jefferson explained why being "one Nation under God" is
important.

Thomas Jefferson and our other Founding Fathers understood that the
government does not give us our freedom. Our freedom comes from God,
and the government was established to protect that God-given freedom.
That was their justification for the American Revolution as stated in
the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson wrote:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created
equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are
instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of
the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or
to abolish it, and to institute new government laying its foundation
on such principles..." No king or emperor, no president or congress,
no court or crowd gives us our rights. They come from God himself and
are unalienable. And the Founders built America's "foundation on such
principles."

2. Abraham Lincoln explained why being "one Nation under God" is
important.

Abraham Lincoln understood that the nation's unity and freedom
depended upon being one nation under God. In the Gettysburg Address,
Lincoln used the exact phrase, "nation, under God," echoed in the
Pledge of Allegiance. He began his address by referring to the
Founding Fathers' foundation in God-given rights: "Fourscore and
seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new
nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that
all men are created equal. Now we are in a great civil war, testing
whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can
long endure."

As Lincoln closes his remarks honoring the fallen soldiers at
Gettysburg, he offered this inspiring vision: "...that we here highly
resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this
nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that
government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall
not perish from the earth."

3. It doesn't matter that the phrase "under God" was added to the
Pledge in the 1950s. Some people argue that "under God" was not in
the original Pledge and was inserted over 50 years later. But, that
only proves it took over 50 years to get it right!

4. The phrase "under God" does not make the Pledge a prayer. Some
people argue that "under God" is a form of prayer, and thus it is
unconstitutional to have schoolchildren recite it. However, a careful
reading of the Pledge of Allegiance reveals that we are not pledging
allegiance to God. We are, instead, pledging allegiance to a
republic. The Pledge describes the republic as one nation under God
and indivisible. In other words, it is a statement of fact. It is a
fact that our Founders established our government on the proposition
that freedom comes from God, not the state.

As both Jefferson and Lincoln attest, the American people's freedom-
the freedom of your neighbors, your co-workers, your children, and
their teachers, are because we are one nation under God. Take that
principle away, remove it from our national consciousness, and we
will lose the very basis for the freedoms we so easily take for
granted. Lincoln said it well, "Now we are in a great civil war,
testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so
dedicated can long endure." In this war of ideas, people will not
defend what they do not cherish, and they will not cherish what they
do not understand.

[Sixguns]

Senator John McCain is one of my personal heroes. I know he followed in his father's footsteps, but I wish he would have chosen Marine option at the Naval Academy. Can you imagine if this man would have worn the eagle, globe and anchor? His thoughts and speech are truly American and fuel the patriotic fires within me. I only wish he would have become our Commander-in-Chief. Citizens of Arizona should be proud to have this caliber of man representing them in the Capitol.

Sixguns


This is not a paid political message...... it is a public service announcement made in cooperation with this site and those who "have a higher calling than their own self-interest."

[Gerard]

He is one of my heroes too. He gave this speech in my hometown before the NH primary election, in the small room where the Marine Corps league meets. The old Marines were among the few present who were not totally silent, as many of them cried. I think NH was right about him...George W is a nice enough guy, but I will always wonder how things would have been be were he elected president...By the way, hearing this was one of the biggest factors pushing me toward the Marine Corps. "May God's assistance remain with us always, and with our absent brrothers."
Gerard

[arzach]

just read the last 3 posts, good job, Marines! helluva lot a sense in your's dane.
sixguns shoots straight also, as does Gerard!

[USMC0311]

Ya can go round and round about the words.



I Pledge Allegiance to The Flag Of The United States of America.

short and sweet...I pledge that and anything else the Flag Represents

[NamGrunt68]

Originally posted by arzach
just read the last 3 posts, good job, Marines! helluva lot a sense in your's dane.
sixguns shoots straight also, as does Gerard!

Damn bro....thats the first time anybody told me I made any sense since my grandma got ate by da hogs !!!! Have a good fourth and if any lil pain in the ass rugrats sets off any fireworks behind you, rip their nuts off and stuff em in their parents mouth as an award !!!! Other than that have a good un !!!!

[arzach]

finds a nut. meant it dane, makes more sense than some of the othe non-believer 'trashe`' that i've read on the other thread!
'present arms' bro!