Being July 4th, let's take another look at that "slavish ritual of devotion to the state, " known as the Pledge of Allegiance.
Why Patriots Shouldn't Pledge Allegiance
Many who consider the pledge a cornerstone of conservative values will be surprised to learn it was written by a Christian Socialist named Francis Bellamy, who was run out of his pulpit at a Boston church for preaching against capitalism, and who called Jesus Christ a socialist.
His radical cousin, Edward Bellamy, wrote a popular novel, Looking Backward, which glowingly describes a future in which government controls the means of production and where men are conscripted into the country's "industrial army" and compelled to work in roles assigned to them by central planners.
Given his beliefs, Bellamy was well-suited for creating a loyalty oath that conditions Americans to subordinate themselves to a powerful central government. Make no mistake—in pledging allegiance "to the republic," Americans are doing precisely that.
Free people have no business pledging loyalty to any government.
The arm outstretched toward the flag came to be called the "Bellamy salute," and it endured for several decades before its striking similarity to the Nazi salute prompted its replacement in 1942 by the familiar hand-over-heart gesture.
Created by a socialist and now fiercely championed by those who think they're conservatives, the Pledge of Allegiance will likely continue warping Americans' thoughts about the relationship between citizens and government for many more years to come.
Love the people, the land, the culture... not the State.
Straight-up, reciting the Pledge is un-American bullshit. Please stop. It's collectivist nonsense. Free people don't pledge devotion to a State. Nor should Christians pledge their loyalty to anything but God.
Think about it.
