Heroes, Heroines, and History: DEDICATION

By Catherine Ulrich Brakefield

1954 in America was a time of patriotism, thankfulness, and dedication to our Lord God. The evils of World War II were behind them.

All that was left were the memories of trudging in the slurping ankle-deep mud, the buddies saying their last words in their arms, and the sleep-deprived nights and relentless battles they fought for the sake of freedom’s cause. A new hope of prosperity opened before them, and the last thing Americans wanted was another war.

Yet, upon the horizon loomed an enemy, more dangerous than Nazism, more hideous than Mussolini, more devious than even Stalin could conceive—Communism.

President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill to insert the phrase “under God” into the U. S. Pledge of Allegiance. The act was embraced wholeheartedly by Congress and the Senate and passed unanimously.

On June 14, 1954, President Eisenhower gave this speech:

“From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty. To anyone who truly loves America, nothing could be more inspiring than to contemplate this rededication of our youth, on each school morning, to our country's true meaning.

“Especially is this meaningful as we regard today's world. Over the globe, mankind has been cruelly torn by violence and brutality and, by the millions, deadened in mind and soul by a materialistic philosophy of life. Man everywhere is appalled by the prospect of atomic war. In this somber setting, this law and its effects today have profound meaning. In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource, in peace or in war.”

It was not until this generation, nearly fifty years later, in July 2002 a federal appeals court ruled that “One Nation Under God” was unconstitutional. This is “a profession that we are a nation ‘under God’ is identical... to a profession that we are a nation ‘under Jesus’.”

A nation ‘under Jesus’. The history of America stands on its own merit. The Pilgrims, The Mayflower Compact, the Constitution of the United States, and the Pledge of Allegiance, are our American Christian testimony. The imprint of our currency reads with “In God We Trust,” our songs of “God Bless America,” “Our Father ‘Tis of Thee,” and “Nearer My God to Thee”, all have the imprint of love for God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

No words could express the love of God and Jesus the American people felt after defeating the enemy that performed hideous atrocities to the Jews and anyone who stood in their way. In 1951, Ralph Pallen Coleman created this magnificent display of America’s reverence for their Savior. The painting is entitled “Onward Christian Soldier”, showing a praying American G.I. on his knees and a huge, white-robed Jesus, arms and hands open wide to embrace him. Above the praying soldier, in the clouds, are the images of George Washington, Pershing, Eisenhower, and Douglas MacArthur.

Many Americans were outraged over banning ‘under God’ from the National Anthem. On June 14, 2004, the Supreme Court, “Upheld ‘Under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance, reversing an earlier ruling by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that the teacher-led recitation of the Pledge, when it contains the words” under God,” was unconstitutional.”

Non-Christian religions may seek shelter within America’s borders, agnostics may not like it and atheists may complain, however, the United States Constitution has withstood centuries of their attempts to overthrow American beliefs.

Abraham Lincoln is attributed to saying, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we lose our freedoms, it will be because we have destroyed ourselves from within.”

Woodrow Wilson once wrote: “A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do.”

The First Amendment states on religion: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Our founding fathers decided on this principle because if one religion had all the political power, then our freedom of religion would be lost. A multiplicity of religious views needed to co-exist.

Alexis de Tocqueville, a French historian who traveled extensively in America said, “Americans combine Christianity and liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive one without the other.”

This was illustrated in 1898 when the Mormons claimed that the First Amendment’s separation of church and state would prevent the United States government from making laws prohibiting their religious exercise of polygamy.

Using Jefferson’s letter regarding the idea of separation of church and state, the court showed that while the government was not free to interfere with opinions of religion, which frequently distinguishes one denomination from another, it was responsible for enforcing civil laws according to general Christian standards.

Abraham Lincoln in his famous Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, had already established, “That this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom…”

Ronald Reagan said, ‘If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under.”

Christians throughout this land will pray for our Savior’s protection from America’s newest enemy. Not from the atheists’ attack, for there were atheists in America during the establishment of the Declaration of Independence. Not from the immigrants of non-Christian religions, for they know more about American evangelists, our Constitution, and the Bill of Rights than some Americans themselves know. No, only apathy can destroy this nation’s liberties, Americans who are unwilling to uphold what this country is founded upon.

Would a nation dedicated to upholding the values of God’s Ten Commandments, and Jesus Christ’s teachings be so terrible? Would a nation that strived to be a City on the Hill, a Beacon of Hope for the hopeless, a nation “under Jesus” be so awful?

When celebrating Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Flag Day, and Labor Day, remember what our forefathers, World War I and II Veterans, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Afghanistan War veterans already knew in their hearts, though some might not have known the verse. They dedicated their lives to protect it. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 1 Corinthians 3:17.

Waltz with Destiny

A story-book romance swirls into a battle for survival—. Ruby’s daughter, Esther, meets her adventuresome match as World War II slams America’s shoreline. Eric is drafted into the 34^th Infantry Rifle Division. His friends drop like flies around him—can Eric persevere?

“…I loved the suspenseful and well-crafted twists, turns, and vivid war scenes. They left me reading nonstop while biting my nails. Catherine’s lovely prose, sense of humor, and historical accuracy deliver an unmistakable wow factor…” Deb Gardner Allard AKA Taylor Jaxon, author of Before the Apocalypse

Catherine is an award-winning author of the inspirational historical romance Wilted Dandelions, and Destiny Series, Swept into Destiny, Destiny’s Whirlwind, Destiny of Heart, and Waltz with Destiny. Her newest book is the inspirational Amish futuristic romance, Love's Final Sunrise. She is a longtime Michigan resident and lives with her husband of 51 years, has two adult children, and four grandchildren.