By the People (originally published June 11, 2005)

"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."

A nation founded on lofty goals . . . Where has it gone?

The Pledge of Allegiance was first scripted in 1892 by Francis Bellamy. It originally read as "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all".

Francis Bellamy was a socialist.

When the cold war kicked into high gear, the "Red Scare" emerged from the United States' intense fear and hostility toward communism. It was at this time, in the mid-fifties, Senator Joseph McCarthy took advantage of the situation and began the greatest witch hunt this country had ever seen since Salem, 1692. Playing on the fears of the masses allowed a few elected officials to manipulate the populace. Being a true patriot meant being as opposite the communist way of life as possible, so Congress added the line "under God" as a poke at communist atheism.

Little has changed since those days. In the wake of the September 11 attacks on U.S. soil, the world was behind us in our hunt for those responsible, and we took action. Shortly thereafter, though, the line began to blurr. Suddenly, we were hearing about Iraq and Saddam Hussien. In a wonderful example of manipulative journalism, the average American actually believed Iraq was behind the terror attacks, even though the words were never spoken. We went to war without the support of the United Nations, and as such, the word 'Iraq' has become the new Arabic word for 'Vietnam'.

These days, the fear of terrorism is the fuel for the fires of government manipulation. Even as the public is easing out of its long paranoia sparked by the September 11 attacks, our President, the man elected to lead our nation simply because he was the lesser of two vacuous evils, is trying to make permanent the Patriot Act. Both parties are critical of this law, as it undermines basic freedoms of law-abiding Americans. The President's recent speech on the matter, of course, ignored these more controversial aspects of the Act.

Our Republic has, figuratively, lost a lot of ground since its inception. What would the founding fathers say to such restrictive laws and regulations? Over the course of the next few years, our borders are going to be tightening like never before. In 2006, a passport will be necessary to reenter the country from the Carribean and central and South America. In 2007, one will be required for reentry from even Mexico and Canada, our true neighbors in the world. By 2008, travel into the U.S. from any point on the planet will require passport identification. How far off are we from needing papers to fly from State to State?

As I ramble on, I realize the problem falls into the laps of the American people. Our version of democracy has become a joke. No longer is it possible for the common citizen to achieve a high office in this country. Gone are the days of Davy Crockett. The American people vote per party affilliation, and not by weight of issues, or even competency of the candidate in question (obviously). The citizenry muddles through its day-to-day existance, blissfully unaware of the government's daily workings, and the government is entirely happy with the situation.

Government "By the People" only works if the people are paying attention. How are we to learn from mistakes of the past if we do not take an active part in their solution? We need to keep ourselves informed, we need to keep an eye on our elected officials, because they do, in fact, work for us and, most importantly, we need to elect a president that can properly pronounce the word 'nuclear'.