My heart is so broken.*
How many times have we all said these words:
“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.”
Did we mean them?
This has been the pledge since 1954, when “under God” was added for the first time, at the suggestion of an attorney.
It was during the height of the Cold War. I’m sure there was much more to it, but basically Americans wanted to distinguish themselves from state atheism. Louis Albert Bowman proposed them after finding that Lincoln spontaneously included them in his Gettysburg address, when he said:
“that the nation shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom.”
I always eat a late lunch, so I saw the storming of the Capitol as it unfolded. January 6, 2021, will live inside of me as one of the darkest days I, and America, have ever experienced. I can’t shake it from my soul; I must never forget. And I know that even darker days are to come. They must come.
The picture above is of officers lowering the flag to half-staff at the Capitol on January 8, 2021, in order to honor Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died from injuries sustained in the attempted coup. He died a hero. My heart is with his family, loved ones, and fellow officers/veterans. I grieve for all those who died both Wednesday and through out this long awful year.
I pray that my faith in America isn’t one of those casualties.
Underneath the flag is the East Portico entrance. On it is the “Genius of America Pediment,” commissioned during the tenure of President John Quincy Adams in 1828. This relief greets the rising sun, as well as visitors to the Capitol. It is not just a peice of art to be ignored as we trample underneath.
The woman in the middle is America.
She rests her arm on the “USA” shield which sits on the altar of July 1776, guarded by the vigilant Eagle. Her resting hand points to Justice, who holds scales high while clutching the Constitution of 17 September 1787.
America looks to Hope, who rests her arm on an anchor.
This anchor is a symbol that hope anchors our journey. For example, such a symbol is referenced in Hebrews 6.19:
“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” This is why you often see cross anchors, as a symbol adopted by Christianity.
I’m honestly not sure how we have a hope in tomorrow for our country. I know that we are still, even with this insurrection, a deeply divided country. We are divided in our sources of news and bias confirmations than our hearts and souls. And as much as we have been tested in the past, we will surely be tested in the future.
If we are the America of pundits and constant images and choice of news and choice of beliefs, we will not make it. But I believe, I must believe, help me believe, that we are still Lincoln’s America. No, we are often better than Lincoln’s America. We are the America of helping hands, high hopes, and can do. We fail, but we try and try again. Except for extremists, we are not each other’s enemies.
When Lincoln gave his address he was in the midst of a storm which none of us can even begin to imagine, with Americans shedding the blood of other Americans in order to preserve a more perfect Union. He didn’t know that we’d survive, but he prayed we would. And that we’d come to a more perfect Union.
May we never go there again. May we survive. May we become a more
perfect Union. Please God, let it be so.
*I am trying to work through my deep despair. Perhaps my words will help you, also. If you can say anything that will help me and others, also, I invite you to post. Otherwise, do not.
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