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Title: The Pledge of Allegiance read & explained by Red Skelton View count: 186 Rating: 5.0 (1 ratings) Description: Richard Bernard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913 September 17, 1997) was an American comedian who was best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. In 2002, during the controversy over the phrase "under God," which had been added to U.S. Pledge of Allegiance in 1954, a recording of a monologue Skelton performed on his 1969 television show resurfaced. In the speech, he commented on the meaning of each phrase of the Pledge. At the end, he added: "Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated from schools too?" Given that advocates were arguing that the inclusion of "under God" in a pledge recited daily in U.S. public schools violated the First Amendment separation of church and state, Skelton suddenly regained popularity among religious conservatives who wanted the phrase to remain. Red Skelton was a Freemason, a member of Vincennes Lodge No. 1, in Indiana. He also was a member of both the Scottish and York Rite. He was the recipient of the General Grand Chapters Gold Medal for Distinguished Service in the Arts and Sciences. On September 24, 1969, he was coroneted an Inspector General Honorary 33° Scottish Rite Mason. He was also a member of the Shriners in Los Angeles, California. Besides being a comedian Mr. Skelton was a reknown artist. As Mr. Skelton withdrew more and more from TV, He spent more time on his lifetime love of painting, usually of clown images, and his works began to attract prices over US$80,000. Tags: red, skelton, the, pledge, of, allegiance, united, states, america, usa, american, john, wayne, usn, usmc, us, army, marine, corp, air, force, coast, guard, national, nation, military, hollywood, actor, artist, comedian, clown, television, radio, circus, art, under, god, schools, school, religious, conservatives, freemason, scottish, rite, mason, shriners, los, angeles, california, honor, duty, country, Author: ObamaSteinNo2012 |
