This week, the US celÂeÂbratÂed its indeÂpenÂdence. And so it’s perÂhaps fitÂting to head into the weekÂend with John Wayne, an AmerÂiÂcan icon, recitÂing and interÂpretÂing the Pledge of AlleÂgiance. Long live the Duke…
Find more vinÂtage audio and video in our colÂlecÂtion of CulÂturÂal Icons.
It would have been nice if he would have said it corÂrectÂly. There is no comÂma (and thus no pause) between “one nation” and “under God”. Far too many peoÂple make that misÂtake.
does it realÂly matÂter. I would rather hear someÂone say it with the pause whole heartÂedÂly where you know it means someÂthing to them, then just some one to recite it and mean nothÂing.
The reaÂson that a pause is felt after “one nation” is because origÂiÂnalÂly there was a comÂma after that. The words “under God” were insertÂed in 1954 durÂing the Cold War to draw an ideÂoÂlogÂiÂcal sepÂaÂraÂtion between us and the “godÂless comÂmuÂnists”. Let’s not blame The Duke for the hysÂteÂria of that era.
That inserÂtion seems to be the misÂtake — it says that unless you’re Judeo-ChrisÂtÂian, you can’t be a patriÂot. It’s in conÂflict with the First AmendÂment and the spirÂit of “E Pluribus Unum” of our foundÂing fathers.
I think we should all take a pause every time we get to that spot in the pledge to acknowlÂedge the voicÂes that aren’t being heard in our counÂtry. That would be the AmerÂiÂcan thing to do.