The American Salute We Would Rather Forget
The short, sordid history of the Bellamy salute
Quick, what are we looking at in the photo above? Is it a screenshot from the Amazon TV Series “The Man in the High Castle”? In case you weren’t aware, the show takes place in an alternative universe where Germany won WWII.
No, ladies and gentlemen, this is not from a work of fiction. This photograph was taken in 1941 in a classroom right here in the good old United States of America. It shows schoolchildren giving what was known as the “flag salute” or “Bellamy salute” while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Allow me to introduce you to the Reverend Francis Bellamy, the man who wrote the American Pledge of Allegiance. Actually, Bellamy re-wrote his Pledge from an earlier version, but he is given credit as having authored the modern Pledge. Yes, it’s a little confusing.
Here is a quick fact that you probably didn’t know. The man who wrote the American Pledge of Allegiance was a Christian Socialist. Just what is a Christian Socialist? I was wondering that myself.
“Christian Socialism is a religious and political philosophy…
