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.

Penned in it's original form by Francis Bellamy in 1892, it wasn't formally adopted by Congress until 1942. I'm sure there are many people who don't know when it was originally written and when it was actually adopted by the federal government as the official pledge to our flag in the United States. Most of us who grew up through the Baby Boomer Generation and the succeeding generations have recited this pledge hundreds and, perhaps, more then a couple thousand times during our lifetimes.

I guess one of the most noteworthy things to me about the pledge is that it acknowledges that the U.S. is a Republic. This is where the difference lies in personal or natural freedom under a republic and limited, controlled, civil or dictated freedom under a true democracy. As I've stated continually, this blog is not about politics. A republic and a democracy are two very different things. And just to be sure, Democrats and Republicans don't necessarily have anything to do with the definition of a republic or a democracy. I point this out because if you love and desire personal or natural freedom and liberty, then you'll want this country and your individual states (if you're in the United States) to remain as, definitively, true to the U.S. Constitution and each state constitution. As outlined in the U.S. Constitution, each state must also be a republic to be one of the United States.

What turned me on to this topic this morning was one of the various news feeds I scan. This feed gave me a link to retiring Congressman Ron Paul's farewell address to the U.S. House of Representatives. I don't particularly enjoy listening to Dr. Paul. While I find him a very intelligent individual and defender of individual liberty, he, unfortunately, was not blessed with the gift of eloquence, at least, not off the cuff. But, then again, the current U.S. President is considered an effective orator when he has a prepared speech and a teleprompter, but, in my opinion, is lackluster in extemporaneous speaking.

I found the transcript of his address to be inspiring and distressing at the same time. It is pretty well known that Ron Paul is a Libertarian Republican, more Libertarian than Republican, I would venture to say. While I personally do not like titles and prefer not to be labeled, other than by self-defined labels like nomad, independent thinker and such, I've taken at least one Internet quiz (on numerous occasions over a period of time) to determine my political stance. I come out dead center as a Libertarian every time. Again, I choose not to label myself a Libertarian even though my leanings happen to shadow the generally accepted Libertarian philosophy. So, I am not pushing libertarianism here.

What I am suggesting, not recommending, just suggesting, is that if you have fifteen minutes or so that you'd like to invest in gaining some real insight into our country, our current crises (that's plural), where this country went wrong and the few possible ways it might be saved, you should click on this link to Ron Paul's Farewell Address and read it for yourself.  That is, of course, unless you believe the government should dictate more and more of our lives. That would be a democracy where the majority becomes the dictator through representatives and the minority loses their individual natural rights and liberties to the dictates of the majority. 

Unfortunately, it seems there are more and more people who believe the government can run their individual lives better than they can run their own lives. And, of course, there are a huge number of people who don't know the difference between a republic and a democracy and equate them as one and the same. They are not. In that case I strongly recommend a Google search for republic vs democracy where you can learn the very distinct differences.

All government at any level should be as small and exercise the least control over my life as possible. There should never be any intimidation of private citizens. It should only exist to serve me and the other "people" of the "We the People" that ratified the U.S. Constitution. I am and will always be a proponent of "Living Free," which means I support individual natural freedom, protection of individual inalienable rights, liberty and justice for all.