[Vision2020] Thank You

[Brent Bradberry]

Richard - We are nearly contemporaries. I started school in Sept 1944 
and remember the daily  pledge of allegiance (and stumbling over the 
words).  I don't remember any  hand  gestures other than  the "hand over 
heart", but I do remember some classmates who were Jehovah's Witnesses. 
I think that neither I nor they knew why some of us said the pledge and 
others didn't. For us little kids it was just one of the mysteries of life.
    I also remember clearly, several years later, when the words "under 
God" were added. I don't recall any great hoohah about the addition, but 
it took a long time to relearn the pledge.

Richard Schmidt wrote:

> Tom,
>  
> Thanks for passing this on to everyone. I'm an old guy and when I 
> started school in September 1943 we sang "God Bless America" and then 
> said the Pledge of Allegiance first thing every morning. Our teacher 
> played the piano and also had a son fighting in Germany. At that time 
> when the pledge was said we started with our hands at our sides and 
> then when "to the flag" was said we extended our right arm with palm 
> up on about a 60 degree angle towards the flag. Our politicians who 
> were just about as stupid then as they are now decided we shouldn't do 
> that any more as they didn't want it to be confused with the way 
> Hitler and the Germans saluted with their right arms extended up on 
> about a 45 degree angle with the "palm down". We then started covering 
> our heart with our hand when the pledge was said. This is the first 
> instance of "political correctness" I can remember. I don't know if 
> there are any other old timers out there who did it that way or not.
>  
> Dick Schmidt


-- 
Brent Bradberry, Ph. D.
Professor of Mathematics, emeritus
Lewis-Clark State College
Commander, U. S. Navy (retired)

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