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The following words were spoken by the
late Red Skelton on his television
program as he related the story of his teacher, Mr. Laswell, who felt his
students had come to think of the Pledge of Allegiance as merely something to
recite in class each day.
[There is a .wav file on this page of
Red Skeleton performing the following pledge. It
takes a while to
load... BUT VERY WORTH
IT!]../
Now, more than ever, listen to the
meaning of these words.
"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 |
me, 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, a 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 have all come
together. |
| States |
individual communities that have united into 48
great states. Forty-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 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 it's from the people to the leaders, not from 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
one's own life without threats, fear or some sort of retaliation. |
| And Justice |
the principle or quality of dealing fairly with
others. |
| For all |
which means, boys and girls, it's 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 it be a
pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated from
schools too?
God Bless America!
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