Commentary: Mooney's Class
Antelope Valley Press
Edward Mooney, Jr.
July 4, 2005

Title: The Pledge, Part II

Last week I started analyzing the Pledge of Allegiance, that long sentence we used to recite in school – and still do. My hope is that we’ll take the time to truly consider what we’re saying. I’ve always noticed that many rush to get through it, and just repeat a phrase that one memorizes without giving careful thought to the meaning.

I don’t expect that we’ll all agree on my perspectives on the Pledge, but I do hope that these columns will give us a reason to pause and discuss the very nature of what our nation is. Today marks the birth of our country – we’re 229 years old. I want this phrase to run today, for not only do we pledge to the flag of the United States of America, but also to…

“…the republic for which it stands.”

Not only was our breaking away from Britain a revolution, but the nature and form of our government was revolutionary. You see, there are only two basic types of human government on this planet: the controlling of the lives of many by a few, with opposition being wiped out or driven underground, and the governance of the people, by the people and for the people (with a nod to Abraham Lincoln).

Governments set up by kings and queens were a dictatorship. All power was vested in one man or woman. What we called communism, as seen on this planet over the last century, was not communism – it was another form of dictatorship by the few. The key indicator: opposition was eliminated. All had to bow to one leader.

There are five gifts in American Government that have broken new ground for the masses of this planet: a division of power, an acknowledgement of basic human rights, a handing over of power from one party to another, the allowance of true opposition to those in power, and government representatives truly elected by the people they stand for.

Most importantly: in the past there was no division of power. The functions of government, such as the right to levy taxes, to declare war, to make laws, to enforce laws, to throw out laws, and just about everything else, were given to one person. No wonder England and France bankrupted themselves in wars over the years! Consider that Louis XIV basically spent most of his national treasury on building himself a house – Versailles! There was no one able to legally oppose him.

In America, our republic, as described in the U.S. Constitution, wisely divides these powers, so no one person may use the might of government to push his or her own agenda. Many don’t realize that the President cannot declare war, or spend money, or levy taxes – only Congress can. He cannot declare a law as unconstitutional – only the Supreme Court can. Many times over the years of my life I’ve heard people decry these things. They want the President to have more power. That is anti-American and unconstitutional. Having independent branches of government is what keeps us truly free, and our founders knew that.

I am able to write in this newspaper, and speak my opposition to government policy, because of the Bill of Rights. Opposing parties hand over power of the branches of our government peacefully (I hope) because we respect election results. Opposition is not crushed – it is allowed. Finally, my vote directly elects most of the people who speak for me in Washington and Sacramento. If I don’t like how they represent me, I can campaign to elect someone else (no, not a threat, George!).

So, tonight, as we celebrate the Fourth, take a moment to say the pledge. Fly a flag. Tonight is not about barbeques and fireworks - it’s about your right to gather and enjoy those things. Tonight’s really about the life you have under that paper accepted on September 17, 1787 – the republic outlined in the U.S. Constitution.

“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.”

Thought for the Night:  The best way to make sure that all fireworks will become illegal is to use currently illegal fireworks (they’re illegal for a reason, folks), or misuse legal ones tonight. Think about it. If you start a fire, or blow off a finger, don’t complain when they make all fireworks illegal. You bought it.

Edward Mooney, Jr., of Palmdale, is a teacher at Quartz Hill High School and the author of the novels "The Pearls of the Stone Man" and "The Journey of the Stone Man".