Independence
Day is the national holiday of the United
States of America commemorating the signing of
the Declaration of Independence by the
Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Following
are just a few of the steps the United States
of America has taken to celebrate and honor
our freedom, our allegiance, our pride and our
independence since 1776.
In
1777, the Continental Congress passed the
first Flag Act: "Resolved, That the
flag of the United States be made of thirteen
stripes, alternate red and white; that the
union be thirteen stars, white in a blue
field, representing a new Constellation.
The
Pledge of Allegiance was originally
written in 1892, but it wasn't until 1942 that
Congress officially recognized the Pledge of
Allegiance.
In
1954, at the urging of President Dwight D.
Eisenhower, Congress passed legislation that
adds the words "under God" to the
pledge. Eisenhower said "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."
After
all these positive and forward steps for
America, on June 26, 2002, a federal
appeals court has taken one giant leap
backwards by ruling the Pledge of Allegiance
as an unconstitutional "endorsement of
religion" because of the addition of the
phrase "under God" in 1954 by
Congress.
CNN
quotes Circuit Judge Ferdinand Fernandez as
saying, "God Bless America" and
"America the Beautiful" will be gone
for sure, and while use of the first and
second stanzas of the Star Spangled Banner
will be permissible, we will be precluded from
straying into the third. And currency
beware!"
On
this July 4th as we celebrate America's 227th
birthday, we need to say the following loud
and clear:
"I
pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States
of America and to the Republic for which it
stands,
one nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all."
オバマ大統領演説2008
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"I'm Already
There" |
"Light From
Above" |
