The Fundamental Shift
TimeWatch Editorial
August 31, 2016
The change of function in the government of the United States has been in many ways a subtle process. The original description of America was clearly defined in the pledge to the flag. According to the US History.org website, the pledge was originally published in The Youth's Companion on September 8, 1892. Bellamy had hoped that the pledge would be used by citizens in any country. It was written in August 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy (1855-1931). In its original form it read: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." US History.org
By the time we reached 1923, the words, "the Flag of the United States of America" were added. At this time it read: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." US History.org
In 1954, in response to the Communist threat of the times, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God," creating the 31-word pledge we say today. Bellamy's daughter objected to this alteration. Today it reads: "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." US History.org
Even though the emphasis is usually applied to the words “allegiance,” “flag,” and “under God,” the word that is often overlooked is “Republic.” John T. Flynn in his book “The Decline of the American Republic” says the following.
“In a republic the ultimate authority is recognized to be in the citizens. But of necessity the people must commit it to agents, depositing all or a part of it with a group of officials who compose the Administration. Once the Administration comes into possession of this apparatus of power, it is essential that the people devise some means of restraining its servants in the use of it. The greatest protection the people can have is the rule by which the Administration is compelled to lay down its powers at stated intervals-surrendering them back into the hands of the people to get a renewal of its authority or effect a transfer to those chosen to succeed it.” John T. Flynn, The Decline of the American Republic, Page 9.
Careful analysis will reveal that the change in America has occurred with the application of the concept of “The Republic.”
“During the last 20 years America has suffered a succession of social and economic dislocations, including a great depression and a great war. We have been so absorbed in these difficulties that we have lost sight of a few simple, elementary principles upon which the free society of America was based. These principles mark the difference between our government and all others in history. And the essential feature of our government, which distinguished it from every other, was the formula we had discovered for creating a government of great powers but so arranged that while they were adequate to protect us in all our rights they could not be used to exploit or enslave us.” John T. Flynn, The Decline of the American Republic, Page 11.
At what point the power shifted from the people to the government is still an issue for debate. What is certainly not debatable is the fact that the shift occurred.
“The problem of free government is not achieved by merely committing the enactment and administration of laws to a body of officials elected by the people. A means must be found of controlling the Administration after it has been elected to power. Once it is in office, those vast powers of the State are in the possession of the Administration and can be used to purchase or intimidate the electorate. The greater the power it has, the greater will be its ability to control the electorate-buying one group, silencing another.” John T. Flynn, The Decline of the American Republic, Page 24.
Naomi Wolf in her book, “The End of America: Letter of warning to a young Patriot,” clearly understand the gentle transition that today is completely irreversible. She describes a shift from a system that is controlled by “the people” to a “Fascist” form of government. The Urban Dictionary says the following concerning fascism:
The only official definition of Fascism comes from Benito Mussolini, the founder of fascism, in which he outlines three principles of a fascist philosophy.
1. The Government is supreme and the country is all-encompassing, and all within it must conform to the ruling body, often a dictator.
2. The country must grow and the implied goal of any fascist nation is to rule the world, and have every human submit to the government.
3. Any type of questioning the government is not to be tolerated. If you do not see things our way, you are wrong. If you do not agree with the government, you cannot be allowed to live and taint the minds of the rest of the good citizens.
Naomi Wolf then describes the transition in the following way:
“The fascist shift does not progress like a diagonal line rising steadily across a chart. Rather, it progresses in a buildup of many acts assaulting democracy simultaneously, that then form a critical mass—what writer Malcolm Gladwell would call a "tipping point." The pressure from this set of assaults suddenly pushes the nation into a new and degraded reality. The turning points can be mapped as vertical lines—the point at which prisoners lost the right to habeas corpus, for instance, is one—which then plateau into the nation's new normal. The nation acclimates; then this process begins again at that greater level of suppression.” Naomi Wolf, “The End of America: letter of warning to a young patriot; A Citizen’s call to action,” page 10
A careful look at the present electoral system reveals the accuracy of the situation. Furthermore, the warning found in Testimonies Volume 5 page 451 is worthy of our consideration.
“When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.”-- Testimonies Volume 5 page 451
Cameron A. Bowen
