Thank You, History Channel
Cairo, Egypt is in a state of chaos. Anti-government protestors are setting fire to the city and looting neighborhoods. Egypt's miliarty is asking residents to take up arms against rioters as civil disobedience has turned to civil unrest. The Associated Press is reporting that the U.S. Embassy will begin flying Americans out of the country as early as Monday.
As much as I don't know about this situation, its a page right out of history. I have been on Twitter all morning, following the latest news reports and ironically, I came across a tweet from @HistoryChannel. It just so happens that on this day in history, January 30, 1948, Gandhi was assasinated in New Delhi.
For those of you who don't know Gandhi's story that well, he promoted equal rights for Indians and for all men through acts of civil disobedience. As a child, Gandhi's mother exposed him to Jainism, an Indian religion that advocated nonviolence. In 1893, failing to find work as a lawyer in India, Gandhi accepted work as a day laborer in South Africa a country that was supremely segregated. During his time there, Gandhi began to seek equality for his fellow Indian day laborers and formed the Natal Indian Congress. In the 1920's, Gandhi returned to his homeland and for the rest of his life would fight the imperialistic power of Great Britain. He lived his life advocating equality, not violence, but he was killed in a very violent way by a Hindu fanatic.
It just proves that no matter how much we try to use our minds and our words to solve complicated issues, eventually our emotions take over.
As I was thinking about writing this blog today I started to think about the periods of civil unrest that our country has endured. The Civil Rights movement in the
1960's and turmoil caused by Vietnam frayed the nerves of Americans and lead to widespread protests, violence and death but our government survived. As bad as we think the vitriol has become lately in America, it has yet to reach the levels of Cairo, Egypt.
I then, strangely enough, started to think about the Pledge of Allegiance. As kids we had to recite it in elementary school every morning, as a testament to how strong our republic actually is. Here's something I also didn't really know. The Pledge of Allegiance was written by a socialist. Imagine that, a socialist authoring one of the most treasured sentiments about our government.
Francis Bellamy, a socialist minister, published the original pledge in "The Youth's Companion" in September, 1892.Originally it read:
The "flag of the United States of America" was added in 1923 and because of anti-Communist sentiment, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God" in 1954.
So there it is, just a little bit of history for you on a Sunday afternoon.
As much as I don't know about this situation, its a page right out of history. I have been on Twitter all morning, following the latest news reports and ironically, I came across a tweet from @HistoryChannel. It just so happens that on this day in history, January 30, 1948, Gandhi was assasinated in New Delhi.
For those of you who don't know Gandhi's story that well, he promoted equal rights for Indians and for all men through acts of civil disobedience. As a child, Gandhi's mother exposed him to Jainism, an Indian religion that advocated nonviolence. In 1893, failing to find work as a lawyer in India, Gandhi accepted work as a day laborer in South Africa a country that was supremely segregated. During his time there, Gandhi began to seek equality for his fellow Indian day laborers and formed the Natal Indian Congress. In the 1920's, Gandhi returned to his homeland and for the rest of his life would fight the imperialistic power of Great Britain. He lived his life advocating equality, not violence, but he was killed in a very violent way by a Hindu fanatic.It just proves that no matter how much we try to use our minds and our words to solve complicated issues, eventually our emotions take over.
As I was thinking about writing this blog today I started to think about the periods of civil unrest that our country has endured. The Civil Rights movement in the
1960's and turmoil caused by Vietnam frayed the nerves of Americans and lead to widespread protests, violence and death but our government survived. As bad as we think the vitriol has become lately in America, it has yet to reach the levels of Cairo, Egypt.
I then, strangely enough, started to think about the Pledge of Allegiance. As kids we had to recite it in elementary school every morning, as a testament to how strong our republic actually is. Here's something I also didn't really know. The Pledge of Allegiance was written by a socialist. Imagine that, a socialist authoring one of the most treasured sentiments about our government.
Francis Bellamy, a socialist minister, published the original pledge in "The Youth's Companion" in September, 1892.Originally it read:
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
The "flag of the United States of America" was added in 1923 and because of anti-Communist sentiment, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God" in 1954.
So there it is, just a little bit of history for you on a Sunday afternoon.
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