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yed | 9 days ago

Fun fact: the Pledge of Allegiance was written by an avowed socialist [0] and was intended to counter the individualistic and capitalistic tendencies he saw in American culture.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bellamy

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wakawaka28|9 days ago

Great information! I assumed it was some random patriotic thing, but this sounds sinister. It's probably not a big deal but I don't really know how much influence it actually has. Most people seem to see it as tolerable or cheesy, not some great and worthwhile gesture.

thrance|9 days ago

The original pledge was quite different, and indeed sounds more socialist:

> I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Also, did you know children had to do a "Bellamy Salute" to the flag? That was removed during WW2 for obvious reasons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellamy_salute

nunez|9 days ago

Wow; today I learned!!!

tombert|9 days ago

Regardless of who wrote it I've always kind of thought it was weird. If America is a great country then it should be self-evident and we don't need to try and indoctrinate children with it.