Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance

FLAG DAY - Hey... America Remember Me?

Remember when I led the parade? Hats came off and hands were placed over one's heart as I approached and passed by.

Remember where I have been and what I stand for— ANZIO, NORMANDY, LEYTE, IWO JIMA, KOREA, VIETNAM, IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN and the ongoing war on terror, etc. The memorial honor rolls of those who did not come back are saluted when you salute me.

REMEMBER THE 31-WORD PLEDGE:

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE...I am RESPONSIBLE as an INDIVIDUAL not to take our freedom for granted and thus to risk losing it.

...AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS...Not a DEMOCRACY (where I speak for myself, you speak for yourself) but a REPUBLIC (a Constitutional Republic governed by law where I am represented). The word DEMOCRACY does not appear in our documents of LIBERTY (The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, the Constitution or the Bill of Rights).

...ONE NATION, UNDER GOD...our right to know that LIFE and LIBERTY are GOD-GIVEN RIGHTS, not the GRANT of GOVERNMENT. Our Constitution gives us a government limited to the delegated authority that "WE THE PEOPLE" allotted to each branch of civil government.

...with LIBERTY and JUSTICE for all...LIBERTY is personal and internal. The Liberty Bell and the Statue of Liberty are fitting symbols. JUSTICE is "the virtue which consists in GIVING TO EVERYONE WHAT IS HIS DUE." Thus justice calls for law and equity, right rules and fair play for all. This explains the once prevailing concept in America— PUNISHMENT TO FIT THE CRIME.

To lose the meaning of OUR FLAG is to encourage the loss of our Republican form of government and our God-given, responsible pursuit of LIFE and LIBERTY.

"REMEMBER, O LORD, Thy tender mercies and Thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. REMEMBER not the sins of my youth, nor my trans- gressions: according to Thy mercy REMEMBER Thou me for Thy goodness' sake, O LORD." (Psalm 25:6-7). "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him. For he knoweth our frame; HE REMEMBERETH that we are dust" (Psalm 103:13,14). "REMEMBER ME, O LORD, with the favour that Thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with Thy salvation" (Psalm 106:4).

May you be BOTHERED to the point of being BLESSED. May our GRAND OLD FLAG remind us of our great American HERITAGE, "one nation under God" without Whose grace we cannot survive the erosion and corrosion of our day. May you look to the GOD OF TRUTH in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ (who said, "I am the truth"--John 14:6), so that you might REST in the TRUTH of God's Word ("the truth shall make you free"--John 8:32) and the TRUTH of God's Son ("the Son shall make you free"--John 8:36). To RECEIVE HIM is to receive the LIFE and LIBERTY He alone can give (John 1:12).

The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

I.F.

Posted with permission.