“Under God“ Origin And Purpose

Louis Albert Bowman, an attorney from Illinois, was the first to initiate the addition of "under God" to the Pledge Of Allegiance.  He formulated the idea from Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address, “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 thus began the quest.

All presidents evoke God but none did so more often than Lincoln.  His Thanksgiving proclamation was prompted by Lincoln’s concern that America was losing it proper perspective by failing to recognize and appreciate the Divine blessings bestowed upon our nation. 

Contrary to popular opinion, our nation was indeed founded on Judeo-Christian principles.  It is the bedrock and the inspiration for our pledge to create and maintain a government dedicated to human dignity and compassion by respecting the liberties of all its people; “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.”  All Presidents sworn into office place their hand on a bible.  We have never had a president that hasn’t asked that God’s blessings be bestowed upon on us: “And may God bless the United States of America.”

On February 7, 1954, the Sunday nearest February 12 (Lincoln’s Birthday), President Eisenhower attended services at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church.  This was the church President Lincoln attended.  With Ike seated in Lincoln's pew, the church's pastor, George MacPherson Docherty, delivered a sermon based on the Gettysburg Address entitled "A New Birth of Freedom".   

Docherty’s sermon was an impassioned plea for a recognition of America’s higher purpose.

He emphasized that the concept around our Pledge of Allegiance embraces the sentiments of almost all other countries.   He argued that America had a deeper purpose that needed to be incorporated into our Pledge; “But the true strength of the United States of America lies deeper…It is the spirit of both military and people – a flaming devotion to the cause of freedom within these borders.”

 

Therefore, he concluded; "There was something missing in the pledge, and that which was missing was the characteristic and definitive factor in the American way of life."  “What… is missing in the pledge of allegiance… was seen clearly by Lincoln: “under God” this people shall know a new birth of freedom, and “under God” are the definitive words.” 

The next day,  February 8, 1954, Rep. Charles Oakman (R-Mich.), introduced a bill to incorporate “under God” into our Pledge of Alliance. Congress passed the necessary legislation and President Eisenhower signed the bill into law on Flag Day, June 14, 1954. 

In the last 61 years there exists no evidence that this legislation has been destructive or harmful to this nation in any manner; nor is there any evidence that it will ever pose a threat.  

“It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the bible.”  ~George Washington

Need to Laugh Again

Our politicians have lost their sense of humor.   

As former NBA great Charles Barkley would say; “that’s a ‘tear-ah-bow’ loss.” 

It is “tear-ah-bow” because there is so much rich humor in politics capable of thoroughly entertaining us.  What makes it truly “tear-ah-bow” is that our refusing to laugh at ourselves and our prevailing thinking and institutions diminishes our ability to maintain proper perspective.  

For decades Chief Executive political humor and wit was instrumental in providing a positive world image and comfort in a profession that can be cruel. While entertaining us and providing perspective it also, more importantly, stimulated our thinking.  

Below is just a sampling of what has been tragically lost.  

Abraham Lincoln 

·        "If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?" 

·        "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt” 

Harry Truman 

·        “My choice in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth there’s hardly any difference.”

 

Lyndon Johnson

 

·         "If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read: 'President Can't Swim.'"

John F. Kennedy 

·        “I have just received the following telegram from my generous daddy. 

It says, 'Dear Jack: Don't buy a single vote more than necessary. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a landslide.'”   

·        “When we got into office, the first thing that surprised me most was to find that things were just as bad as we'd been saying they were.”    

·        When asked how he became a war hero:

"It was absolutely involuntary. They sank my boat." 

Press Conference July 17, 1963 

·        Question:  “Mr. President,… [do you have any response to] the Republican National Committee recently adopted…resolution saying you were pretty much a failure.”

·        Kennedy response – “I am sure it passed unanimously.”   

Ronald Reagan 

·        “Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement.” 

·        “Thomas Jefferson once said, ‘We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.’ And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying.” 

·        “I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon.” 

·        “I have learned that one of the most important rules in politics is poise, which means looking like an owl after you have behaved like a jackass.” 

To President Obama’s credit he has attempted to revive this precious art but has mostly withheld his efforts until after almost seven years in office. 

·        “I'm so over-exposed I’m making Paris Hilton look like a recluse.” 

 President Obama  –National Committee Fundraiser – October 31, 2015 

·        “They [Republicans] occupy a different reality it seems.”

“According to them[Republicans] everything was really good in 2008” [Before Obama Took office],  “When we were going through the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes, unemployment and uninsured rates were up, we were hopelessly addicted to foreign oil and [Osama] bin Laden was still on the loose.  This apparently was the golden age that I messed up.” 

William James aptly wrote: “Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds.  A sense of humor is just common-sense dancing” - And it’s time we got back to dancing once again.

Sanders and Socialism

What is Socialism?

• Is it Social Security???
• Are Medicare and Medicaid Socialism???
• What about unemployment insurance and workers compensation???
• How about food stamps and The Reagan supported Earned Income Tax Credit
• How about Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage programs????
• Is it public education?
• How about Pell Grants???
• How about the GI Bill????
• Or government-subsidized public transportation??
• How about road and bridge construction and repair????

 Yes it can be ugly too. 

• How about a half-billion dollars to build a new Viking stadium???
• Or the roughly $200 million to build a new ballpark for the Twins???
• Is it the millions upon millions we spend on our retired and defeated politicians?
• What would we call the Bush – Obama bailouts of Wall Street???
• And of course Oil subsidies???

 Therefore, Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Ike, JFK, LBJ and yes, even the sainted Ronald Reagan were all Socialists.

Don’t be duped into thinking that Socialism doesn’t exist in America, that it should be feared as some evil enterprise.  The truth is we have our own brand of Socialism - an American brand of Socialism – AND IT WORKS!!!!!!

It is benefiting every single American every single day, which is why Bernie Sanders is proud to wear the label and is yet another reason for our vigorous support.