A Little Piece Of Our History
From Fascism Part II: The Rise of American Fascism
"The original Pledge read as follows:
I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
... up until 1942, the salute used while saying the pledge was to make a military salute to the chest or brow, and then extend the arm straight out with the palm facing the flag, as shown below. This type of salute originated in ancient Rome and has been used by many groups. The salute is most widely recognized now as a "Nazi salute," but in fact it was Mussolini who adopted it before Hitler as apart of his fascist party, precisely because of its Roman origin. The Nazis later adopted it from the Italians. Its use in America prior to this time has no direct relationship to the fascists, however, it was a nationalist salute to the State. In the Italian and German usage the salute was to the leader himself, as it was used in Rome to "Hail Caesar" ("Heil Hitler").
After reciting the Pledge students were often instructed to say:
"One Country! One Language! One Flag!"
"The original Pledge read as follows:
I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
... up until 1942, the salute used while saying the pledge was to make a military salute to the chest or brow, and then extend the arm straight out with the palm facing the flag, as shown below. This type of salute originated in ancient Rome and has been used by many groups. The salute is most widely recognized now as a "Nazi salute," but in fact it was Mussolini who adopted it before Hitler as apart of his fascist party, precisely because of its Roman origin. The Nazis later adopted it from the Italians. Its use in America prior to this time has no direct relationship to the fascists, however, it was a nationalist salute to the State. In the Italian and German usage the salute was to the leader himself, as it was used in Rome to "Hail Caesar" ("Heil Hitler").
After reciting the Pledge students were often instructed to say:
"One Country! One Language! One Flag!"
posted by nolocontendere at 9:52 PM
2 Comments:
The whole "pledge allegiance to the flag" thing has always felt creepy to me. I remember as a child thinking "why am I worshipping a flag??"
Chant little children robots, chant. I don't think this practice is done today (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Thought control still remains though.
I always felt uncomfortable too as a child - it seemed to be a test of some sort rather than a warm, communal affirmation. Especially now with the "under god" addendum.
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