http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1892
Here are some one liners...
The Pledge of Allegiance and Proper Propaganda -- Almost half a million immigrants this year forces the educational system to search for ways to teach American patriotism.
"Separate but Equal"... Plessy v. Ferguson -- Homer Plessy is mostly white which means partly black. He sits in the whites-only railway car and is arrested. The plan is to force this case to the Supreme Court and everything goes perfectly except for the end part when they lose the case.
Notable Births -- J. R. R. Tolkien, Oliver Hardy and Charles Atlas.
In Other News -- The Diesel engine, the Sierra Club and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
The Pledge of Allegiance and Proper Propaganda
Ellis Island has processed almost half a million immigrants this year, so to indoctrinate the new immigrants, the popular magazine, Youth's Companion is calling for the display of the American flag in all public schools. Francis Bellamy, a socialist Christian, submits his Pledge of Allegiance to the magazine along with a special salute. You face the flag, extend your arm straight out with palm down. Yes. IT'S THE HITLER SALUTE! Adolf Hitler is 2-years-old right now, so the Bellamy salute has nothing to do with Nazis. The school superintendents love the Pledge and add it to the school day. In another 25 years, the Pledge will be required, meaning that if you tell your kid NOT to recite it... maybe for religious reasons... you will be charged with "contributing to the delinquency of a minor." Congress will officially adopt the Pledge of Allegiance in 1942, changing the Bellamy Salute to a hand-over-the-heart. In 1954, the words "under God" will be added because of the perceived threat of Godless communism. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]-
- I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands,
- one nation,
- indivisible,
- with liberty and justice for all.
-
- -- The original Pledge of Allegiance, 1892.
My Take by Alex Shrugged
While education has always been combined with propaganda, our fight over educational goals usually boils down to WHICH propaganda we should foist upon our children. The poem "The Gods of the Copybook Headings" by Rudyard Kipling is a warning. A copybook is used for teaching penmanship. At the top of each page is a sentence that children must copy, but while learning good penmanship, they are burning into their minds whatever is at the top of the copybook. What would you put there? "Might makes right?" or "Love your neighbor as yourself?" It makes a difference. Finally, the Pledge is not exactly a loyalty oath, but some people take it that way. In my 6th grade class a girl refused to recite the Pledge. Our teacher explained that it was her right, so we continued without her. I remember feeling a little resentful because she wasn't conforming, but the feeling passed. I decided that I was OK with her objecting. After all. This is America, home of the free. Isn't it? Well... not always. I think it depends on the generation. [8]
While education has always been combined with propaganda, our fight over educational goals usually boils down to WHICH propaganda we should foist upon our children. The poem "The Gods of the Copybook Headings" by Rudyard Kipling is a warning. A copybook is used for teaching penmanship. At the top of each page is a sentence that children must copy, but while learning good penmanship, they are burning into their minds whatever is at the top of the copybook. What would you put there? "Might makes right?" or "Love your neighbor as yourself?" It makes a difference. Finally, the Pledge is not exactly a loyalty oath, but some people take it that way. In my 6th grade class a girl refused to recite the Pledge. Our teacher explained that it was her right, so we continued without her. I remember feeling a little resentful because she wasn't conforming, but the feeling passed. I decided that I was OK with her objecting. After all. This is America, home of the free. Isn't it? Well... not always. I think it depends on the generation. [8]
"Separate but Equal"... Plessy v. Ferguson
A couple of years ago, Louisiana passed a law that requires railroad companies to separate whites and blacks on trains by requiring assigned seating and separate cars or partitions. The railroads object because it it and added expense and a lot of trouble. (NOT because it is somehow insulting or degrading.) A New Orleans group organizes to challenge the law. Homer Plessy is 1/8th black, so he can pass for white. He buys a ticket and sits in the whites-only car. To make sure that he is arrested at the proper place and time, detective C.C. Cain is hired. Make no mistake. This entire situation is contrived to produce a test case that they can bring before the Supreme Court. When the conductor asks Homer Plessy if he is white, Homer admits that he is not, and after he refuses to leave the whites-only section, C.C. Cain dutifully arrests him and books him in New Orleans. He is brought before Judge Ferguson who rules that Louisiana has a right to regulate any train that travels within state lines. He fines Homer Plessy $25. Since the average wage is $1.60 a day, this is about 3-weeks wages. It is going to take some time for this case to go to the Supreme Court. During that time the composition of the Court will change and attitudes toward the mixing of blacks and whites will solidify. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
In hindsight, they probably should have avoided the Supreme Court. The Court set standards for "separate but equal" racism. As long as the facilities provided were equal, blacks and whites could be separated. Jim Crow Laws separating blacks and whites were passed everywhere. (Jim Crow refers to a black-face minstrel show and the song "Jump Jim Crow" that was popular in the early 1800s.) The Supreme Court ruling became the excuse to provide "separate but UNEQUAL" public facilities such as separate but unequal restrooms, hotel rooms, restaurants, and schools. It brought the government into our lives at a fundamental level, forcing people to comply. Dr. Condi Rice, the former Secretary of State, tells of her school in Birmingham, Alabama. The children met in a basement with a dirt floor. They had state-approved textbooks, but they were tattered throwaways. She was able to learn something anyway, but it was the calculated insult that was at issue. It was government-supported racism that lasted over 60 years until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. And this is yet another example of why I refuse to take my moral lessons from the Supreme Court. [16]
In hindsight, they probably should have avoided the Supreme Court. The Court set standards for "separate but equal" racism. As long as the facilities provided were equal, blacks and whites could be separated. Jim Crow Laws separating blacks and whites were passed everywhere. (Jim Crow refers to a black-face minstrel show and the song "Jump Jim Crow" that was popular in the early 1800s.) The Supreme Court ruling became the excuse to provide "separate but UNEQUAL" public facilities such as separate but unequal restrooms, hotel rooms, restaurants, and schools. It brought the government into our lives at a fundamental level, forcing people to comply. Dr. Condi Rice, the former Secretary of State, tells of her school in Birmingham, Alabama. The children met in a basement with a dirt floor. They had state-approved textbooks, but they were tattered throwaways. She was able to learn something anyway, but it was the calculated insult that was at issue. It was government-supported racism that lasted over 60 years until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. And this is yet another example of why I refuse to take my moral lessons from the Supreme Court. [16]
Notable Births
- J. R. R. Tolkien (Author of Lord of the Rings). [17]
- Oliver Hardy (From the Laurel and Hardy comedy team.) [18]
- Charles Atlas (Body-builder, but now best known for the Rocky Horror Picture Show song, "I Can Make You a Man" with the Charles Atlas stamp of approval.) [19]
In Other News
- Rudolf Diesel patents the Diesel engine. There is no spark plug! [20]
- The Sierra Club is founded by John Muir. The goal is to create mountain parks like Yosemite. [21]
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