Pledge of Allegiance as read by Red Skelton
DrMikeJ@AOL.COM
Thu, 28 Jan 1999 23:19:30 EST
To the list,
This has been requested of me numerous times, so I thought I would share it
with the whole list.
DrMikeJ@aol.com
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Commentary on the Pledge of Allegiance
by Red Skelton
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As a schoolboy, one of Red Skelton's teachers explained the words and meaning
of the Pledge of Allegiance to his class. Skelton later wrote down, and
eventually recorded, his recollection of this lecture. It is followed by an
observation of his own.
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 is 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 forty-eight 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 is love for country.
And to the Republic -- 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 qualities, of dealing fairly with others.
For All -- For All, which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as
it is mine.
And now, boys and girls, let me hear you recite the Pledge of Allegiance:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America,
and to the Republic, for which it stands;
one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
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?
Red Skelton
