What does the Pledge mean to you?
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 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 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."
When I first heard this story I absolutely fell in love with it. The courage and patriotism this young man showed was so inspiring, and so full of truth. It made me think back to saying the Pledge at school every morning. Something that DIDN'T fill me with inspiration and truth. Actually, the feelings were more like disgust and anger. ...or something along those lines. Not because of the words we were saying, but by the LACK of words some of us were saying. The lack of respect.
Most times when it would be time to recite the Pledge, half of the students in my classes wouldn't stand up, wouldn't put their hand over their hearts, wouldn't even look at the flag. Most of this wasn't because they were against the Pledge, but rather they were just too LAZY to do so. This thought makes me sick. Above is the story about a young man who risked his LIFE to say the Pledge. EVERY DAY. And now half of the students can't muster up the respect to stand? In a safe and even expecting environment? Its crazy. And it needs to change. We ought to be proud of our country, and view the opportunity of saying the Pledge everyday, as just that. AN OPPORTUNITY. a blessing.
Last Sunday, a man gave a talk about patriotism in sacrament, and he quoted something from Red Skelton that I loved; it reminds us of the TRUE meaning behind the words we should speak everyday.
(this is him recalling what one of his teachers taught him in school.)
"I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester. And it seems as though it is becoming monotonous to you. If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each word?
I - an individual, a committee of one. pledge - dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self pity. Allegiance - my love and my devotion. to the flag - our standard, Old Glory, our symbol of freedom. Wherever she waves, there's respect because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybody's job! United - that means that we all come together. States - individual communities that have you united into 48 great states. Fourty Eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose; all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose. and that's love for a country. and to the republic - a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people, and its from the people to the leaders, not the leaders to the people. For which it stands, one nation - one nation meaning "so blessed by God". indivisible - incapable of being divided. with liberty - Which is freedom -- the right of power to live ones own life without threat, fear or some sort of retaliation. and justice- the principal or quality of dealing fairly with others. For all - which means, boys and girls, that its as much your country as it is mine."
Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance...Under God - Wouldn't that be a pity if someone said that is a prayer, and eliminated it from schools too?..."
So, I ask again. What does the Pledge mean to YOU?
To me? It means I am proud to be a part of something so great. I am proud of my country, of its people, of its progress, of its beauty, of its freedom, and of its Glory. And I will stand for the rest of my life, with my hand over my heart, for the respect of this great nation.
how blessed are we? :)
and now a little classic American tunage for ya. One of my all time favourites. :)
