With yet another mass shooting under America’s belt the citizens of the Unites States will once again look to their political leaders to do everything… to do nothing… while addressing this new terror on society. Arguments will focus on gun control laws and the failures of the mental health system; some will stray toward the violence in video games and the tv/movie industry. When it’s all said and done it will be the Constitution that should set the frame work for the solutions.
The 2nd Amendment will be recited religiously by those opposed to any new gun control laws, and while I am a great believer in our Constitution and the 2nd Amendment the circumstances in which it was written and the history of the time should not be ignored.
Adopted in 1791 with the Bill of Rights, the 2nd Amendment was heavily influenced by the English Bill of Rights from 1689. The English Bill of Rights was in part to re-establish the rights of Protestants in England regarding bearing arms, many of which were disarmed during the reign of King James II (note that Catholics maintained this right under James II). Allowing all subject of English rule to bear arms was important as they were the means in England for “keeping watch and ward at night and to confront and capture suspicious persons”. Every Englishman had an obligation to “protect the Kings Peace and assist in the suppression of riots”.
These English duties didn’t stop at the English Channel but carried on to the new world and the English settlers in the colonies. Without the right to bear arms they would not have be able to create militias, participate in law enforcement, repel invasions, or provide self-defense along the vast colonial frontier.
As good students of American History we all know how the colonist militias held out against the professional armies under King George during the American Revolution (at least until the establishment of the Continental Army). The English army in the colonies both prior to and during the War of Independence created a fear in the colonist and framers of the Constitution that prevented the formation of a standing army in America until the late 19th early 20th centuries; during the War of 1812, War with Mexico and Civil War, armies were formed from state militias. For over a hundred years the survival of our nation, the ability to protect ourselves was based on the citizens having the right to bear arms. In 1903 militias were replaced with the formation of the United States National Guard.
Let’s also consider the weaponry of the times, flintlock muskets and rifles. Loading, aiming and firing these highly inaccurate guns would take anywhere from 5 to 20 seconds based on the skill (and volley tactics) of the shooter(s); if you were not quick enough to reload there was a real potential to be struck down by your opponents sabre, or other weapon of the day; a mass shooting by an individual was highly unlikely to next to impossible.
This important Amendment, while as sacred today as it was when it was written was without doubt written under circumstances that do not entirely apply today, we have a police force, an army and national guard, we no longer suffer attacks along a frontier, tyrant government – only exist when its ‘your party’ that didn’t win. So why do we recite the 2nd Amendment following mass shooting or during discussions in Washington regarding gun control? Why do we robotically chant the words of this Amendment when they do not address this new terror on society?
The 2nd Amendment should not be the discussion, the 2nd Amendment is what gave the right to the mass shooter to purchase the firearm, no the 2nd Amendment should not be the discussion but the Constitution in whole should be, because it’s the role of the Government to enact laws to protect the citizens, because the Constitution also protects unarmed citizens from those that exercise their right to bear arms; because while many in our society are concerned with their rights, the rest are concern with their lives and the lives of their loved ones. When the US government enacts laws to protect their citizens they are not operating as a tyrant, there is no hidden agenda to disarm American, this is not an us verse you topic, this is simply following the Constitution… protect the citizens; if we live in fear of our rights, if we live in fear of our Constitution then we have failed as a Nation.
Category Archives: History
Challenge of the Pledge of Allegiance… As Is
“A family has asked Massachusetts’ highest court to ban the daily practice of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, arguing that the words ‘under God’ in the pledge discriminate against atheists”
News of this latest challenge to the legality of the Pledge of Allegiance in our public schools has resulted in some rather arid post on the social networks. As you read through the various comments one can’t help but wonder if any of the writers of these post actually know the history to our Pledge of Allegiance? So here it is…. In a nutshell.
The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy. It was originally published in The Youth’s Companion on September 8, 1892. Although Bellamy is accepted widely as the author of the first pledge, James Upham, an employee of the Boston publishing firm that produced “The Youth’s Companion” has also been credited with penning our first Pledge.
On September 8, 1892 “The Youth’s Companion” published the 22-word recitation for school children to use during planned activities the following month to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America. It was first published under the title “The Pledge to the Flag”, the original form read as the following:
“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
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Bellamy’s intent was that the pledge could be used in any country by any citizen. After the Columbus Day celebration the Pledge to the Flag became a popular daily routine in America’s public schools. During the National Flag Conference on Flag Day – June 14, 1923, the Pledge received its first revision. The Conference agenda took note of the wording in the Pledge; concern grew with the number of immigrants now living in the United States, that there might be some confusion when the words “My Flag” were recited. To correct this the pledge was altered to read: “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.” The Pledge of Allegiance continued to be recited daily by children in schools across America and gained heightened popularity during World War II. It was on June 22, 1942 when the United States Congress included the Pledge to the Flag in the United States Flag Code (Title 36). This was the first Official sanction given to the words that had been recited each day by children for almost fifty years. Congress also established the current practice of reciting the pledge with the right hand over the heart. One year after receiving this official sanction, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school children could not be forced to recite the Pledge as part of their daily routine, “compulsory unification of opinion violates the First Amendment”, this was in response to the Jehovah Witnesses practices regarding idolatry. In 1945 the Pledge to the Flag received its official title – Pledge of Allegiance. The final revision came in 1954, in response to the Communist threat during the Cold War, President Eisenhower urged Congress to add the words “under God,” creating the 31-word pledge we say today. “In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.” Bellamy’s daughter objected to this alteration. So in a nut shell our Pledge was written by a socialist, written for any citizen of any country, revised the first time due to concerns of early 20th century immigrants, required reciting found to be a violation of the First Amendment, revised again to include “Under God” as a reaction to the Communist Red Scare of the early 1950s. It appears that the revisions over the years have been made in response to a fear of outsiders, a reaction to those less American than ourselves. Perhaps if we just had left well enough alone, preserved the original text we would have all blogged about something else today, in the end there are no shortage of topics. I think this Columbus Day I’ll recite the original text… as is “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
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independentthinker101 