Carolyn Bennett
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oday in 1921 was the first remembrance of the end to World
War I: Armistice Day commemorated with the burials of unknown soldiers in tombs
in Paris, France, London, England, Arlington, Virginia (suburb of U.S.
capital)
This international carnage from 1914 to 1918 involved most
of the nations of Europe together with Russia, the United States, the Middle
East, and other regions.
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| Unburied soldier World War I |
Left dead were almost 10 million military personnel: an
estimated 8,500,000 soldiers died from their wounds and or disease. The
greatest number of casualties and wounds were inflicted by artillery, small
arms, and poison gas.
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| Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Arlington |
The precise count of military and civilian losses is
uncertain. At the time of this war, there were no agencies established to keep casualty
records but displacement of peoples through the movement of the war in Europe
and in Asia Minor ─ accompanied by the most destructive outbreak of influenza
in history ─ led to unspeakably large numbers of military and civilian deaths.
The number of civilian deaths attributable to World War I has
been estimated at levels exceeding military casualties: more than 10 million, around
13,000,000.
Civilians died largely from starvation, exposure, disease,
military encounters, and massacres.
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| Lincoln at Gettysburg |
We here highly resolve that
these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation … shall have a new
birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the
people shall not perish from the earth. ─ Editorial liberty with Lincoln’s November
19, 1863 Gettysburg Address
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| American Civil War dead |
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he day will come, I
hope, when leaders, priests and preachers will no longer murder the
young of our nation or of any nation and peoples.
The day will come, I
hope, when men (and men-like
women) will no longer rape and ruin, plunder and impoverish, trample and tear
apart laws and lands, planets, rights and justice, indeed the lives of millions
for private gain and short-term pleasure.
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| U.S. NATO - slaughtered Afghans |
The day will come, I
hope, when we will rise from knees of indifference and acquisition and
stand as strong as our flag, as strong as Lincoln’s words, stand for the common
good, for rights and justice of all.
I
pledge allegiance to this flag and to the
Republic for which it stands ─ one nation indivisible with liberty and justice
for all. ─ Editorial liberty with the pledge
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ising from a new ethos ─ Another
world is possible, A changed U.S. is imperative
Why not pledge allegiance to a new ethos.
Sources and notes
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address in full and unedited text is widely
quoted, praised and recognized as one of the classic utterances of all time, a
masterpiece of prose poetry.
This world-famous speech was delivered by America’s
seventeenth head of state, President Abraham Lincoln, at the dedication
(November 19, 1863) of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the
site of one of the decisive battles (July 1–3, 1863) of the American Civil War.
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address delivered November 19,
1863, American Rhetoric, Online Speech Bank,
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gettysburgaddress.htm
See also: Gettysburg Address. (2011). Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Deluxe Edition. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.
Pledge Allegiance to the Flag of the
United States of America
First published in the juvenile periodical The Youth’s
Companion on September 8, 1892, in the following form:
I pledge allegiance to my Flag and
the Republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and
Justice for all.
In 1924, the words “the flag of the United States of
America” were substituted for “my Flag”
In 1942, the pledge was officially recognized by the U.S.
government.
In 1943, the United States Supreme Court ruled that no
person can be required to recite the pledge.
In 1954, at the urging of the thirty-fourth president,
President Dwight David Eisenhower, the U.S. Congress legislated that “under God”
be inserted, making the pledge read:
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.
In the 1954 legislation citizens were urged to stand upright
and place the right hand over the heart while reciting the pledge. Men not in
uniform should remove any nonreligious head covering.
Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of
America. (2011). Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Deluxe Edition. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.
Stars and Stripes, Old Glory
As with many other national flags, the Stars and Stripes
have long been a focus of patriotic sentiment.
From 1777 to 1960 (after the admission of Hawaii in 1959),
there were 27 versions of the U.S. flag—25 involving changes in the stars only.
An executive order of October 29, 1912, standardized the proportions and
relative sizes of the elements of the flag; in 1934 the exact shades of color
were standardized.
Millions of U.S. children have traditionally recited the
Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag at the start of each school day, and the
lyrics of the national anthem are also concerned with the flag. Some veterans’
groups have pressured legislators to adopt laws or a constitutional amendment
prohibiting flag desecration, but such legislation has been opposed on the
grounds that it would infringe on the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of
expression.
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ld Glory (1862): the flag of the U.S.
The United States Flag is called Stars and Stripes, Old
Glory, or Star-Spangled Banner flag
The U.S. national flag consists of white stars (50 since
July 4, 1960) on a blue canton (top inner quarter of flag) with a field of 13
alternating stripes (7 red, 6 white). The 50 stars stand for the 50 states of
the Union. The 13 stripes stand for the original 13 states (colonies). The
flag’s width-to-length ratio is 10 to 19.
Confederate
Flag
During the American Civil War, the Confederate States of
America began to use its first flag, the Stars and Bars, on March 5, 1861. Soon
after, the first Confederate Battle Flag was also flown. The design of the
Stars and Bars varied over the following two years.
On May 1, 1863, the Confederacy adopted its first official
national flag, often called the Stainless Banner. A modification of that design
was adopted on March 4, 1865, about a month before the end of the war.
In the latter part of the 20th century, many groups in the
South challenged the practice of flying the Confederate Battle Flag on public
buildings, including some state capitols. Proponents of the tradition argued
that the flag recalled Southern heritage and wartime sacrifice, whereas opponents
saw it as a symbol of racism and slavery, inappropriate for official display.
Whitney Smith: United States of America, flag of the. (2011).
Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia
Britannica Deluxe Edition.
Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.
World War I. (2011). Encyclopedia
Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Deluxe Edition. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.
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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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