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Patriotic America: Read This

I am called all kinds of names, because of my left leaning views, despite having some more right than most.  Regardless of my political beliefs, there is one thing I am not.  A flag waver.  I'm patriotic in the sense that I respect our military and what they do and I realize this country has a lot to offer, but that's where my patriotism ends. You will never see me painting my face red, white and blue or waving a flag.  I stand and place my hand on my heart during our national anthem out of respect, but I think God should be taken out of our pledge of allegiance.  Before you jump on me and think your shit don't stink and you're a true 'Mercan, listen to a couple of things which might point your disdain stick right back at yourself. 

We all love fourth of July, right

A quarter of a billion dollars in fireworks are shot off each 4th.  Almost entirely imported from China.
Of the 150 million American flags bought in this country.  Less than 10 Million are made in America. 
Mexico buys more of Old Glory than we do.

We all know when we buy American it's better, right?

Budweiser is now a German company.
Chevy Silverado - 61% of it is made in America.
Coors Light isn't even close to 100% American anymore.
Ford didn't take bailout money...they just stopped making cars here. Dropped American built from 90-60%.
Rawlings which makes Major League baseballs,started in Puerto Rico, then Haiti, now Costa Rica.
Our Major League pastime hasn't had a baseball made in American since 1977.
American Girl dolls - made in China.
Don't get me started on Craftsman tools!
Apple products, including the iPhone, almost entirely made in China.

Our 2012 Summer Olympic uniforms were made in China.

Now here's my favorite for the people who bash me.  Especially you holier than though right wing nut jobs, who call Obama a socialist, because you're not really sure what it means, but it sounds bad.

The Pledge of Allegiance, which every hardcore, God-fearing, conservative American feels is the essence of our country, was written by Francis Bellamy. A devout socialist.
The original version, read as such: 'I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.  Bellamy had wanted to include "equality," but knew that would be interpreted as including women and blacks and that the school superintendent wouldn't allow that. 
The words "my flag" was changed to "the flag of the United States of America," despite a protest from Bellamy.
In the early 50's, the words "under God" were added, making it a salute and a public prayer.  His granddaughter said in interviews; Bellamy would have detested this change, due to his fallout with the church (He was a minister, before working for the National Education Society).
Bellamy has once said, he wanted to include "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity," taking from a slogan derived from the French Revolution, which was an admired by Thomas Jefferson. Bellamy wrote, it was "too fanciful, too many thousands of years off realization.

So the pledge that is so admired by so-called die hard Americans and whose verbiage is fought over was: 
Written by a socialist.
Never intended to contain any religious connotation.
Was meant to include everyone, regardless of race, creed, color, gender or religious affiliation.
Inspired by the French.
And while this came long before Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, below is a picture of the original salute


God Bless America and our complete misunderstanding of everything.

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