By Grant Steves
The following is a transcript of the speech written by Grant Steves and delivered by James Barri at the State Capital during the Day of Reason
The Pledge of Allegiance is described as an oath, a national prayer, and a statement that elevates the government and flag to religious icons. Its major supporters have been clergy, religious and patriotic groups.
Francis Bellamy, who composed the original Pledge of allegiance in 1892, had these thoughts about it: The true reason for allegiance to the flag is the ‘republic for which it stands’. . . . And what does that vast thing, the Republic mean? It is the concise political word for the Nation—the one nation which the civil war was fought to prove. To make that one nation idea clear, we must specify that it is indivisible.