"One Nation, Under God...", the American Dream. Francis Bellamy (1855 - 1931), a Baptist minister, wrote the original Pledge in August 1892 (The Pledge of Allegiance; A Short History
by Dr. John W. Baer, http://history.vineyard.net/pledge.htm). This pledge has been recited on many occasions by many people in this great country, I remember memorizing the Pledge of Allegiance in kindergarten. It came under scrutiny for the quoted verse above, "Under God", and became a focus of scandal in the 90's but soon blew over. I believe the end of the pledge makes sense of the American Dream...."Indivisible, with Liberty on Justice and All."
I explored the idea of God and the American Dream, and the idea of religion causing so much pain and joy. I asked my boss about the American Dream and I knew he was very active in his church and his faith. I was expecting a sermon and perhaps a invitation to be saved but my judgements crushed my ego and he enlightened me in a different way. He told me the American Dream was the diversity in faith and people. He did not talk down on others or commit any one religion to eternal damnation. He felt blessed to celebrate his beliefs with his family and community. I was quite humbled by this chat with a somewhat stranger. Though he signs my paychecks and give me memos each week, I felt somewhat closer to him and his faith in general...."One Nation, Under God...and the American Dream."
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Hi Jim!
Isn’t it interesting when we sometimes learn more from what people don’t say?
Your boss is correct. America is full of religious diversity. What we sometimes forget is so many of the original settlers and colonists came to America for religious freedom. They wanted to be able to worship who they wanted and how they wanted. To me, it is so cool there are so many times many religions come together as one. At Thanksgiving time, many towns have community wide services, rotating from church to church every year. I remember after 9-11, there were a multitude of prayer services and everyone was invited. It’s not only Sundays anymore….
Good entry. Good insight from your boss.
Marcia
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