The Malfeasance Of A Comma
Author: JB Howick
A week ago something no one hopes to experience happened in Townsend—an argument. Like most argu-ments some of the issues on both sides were sincere and important while others were (how can we say this politely...) petty. We all know that arguments frequently get out of hand no matter how just the original cause and this one led to an empty billboard on the corner of Pine and Broadway.
There are many people out there who can share parts of the story. There are a few who can share most if not all of the story. But I don't believe the specifics of who said what and why are important. They can only lead to more hurt feelings. And in the grand scheme of things, where we must weigh the consequences of everything from fixed-income-threatening inflation to war in Ukraine and the pending advent of school (in a spanking new building, no less!), our attention this last week should not have been drawn to a blank billboard—or an argument.
Our Pledge of Allegiance, intended at least in part to pull us away from contention, has a history dating from 1892 when a socialist minister named Francis Bellamy published it in *The Youth's Companion.* It wasn't created by our Founding Fathers, nor even Con¬gress. Bellamy published it in the children's magazine in the hope that it would be adopted by all citizens. It was much simpler then: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." His original salute, found in *The Youth's Companion," started with hand-over-heart, but at the words "to my Flag" the hand was extended palm-up toward the flag. Shortly thereafter the salute twisted the hand palm-down. And a bit after that was World War II, ending the practice of extending our hands toward our flag.
In 1923 the words "my Flag" were replaced with "the Flag of the United States of America." In 1954, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God" to stand firm against the Communist threat of his day.
And no, Eisenhower didn't include a comma.
And that comma has been a bone of contention ever since. In my opinion, part of the problem is that the Pledge is most often spoken in groups. Sometimes very large groups. And the habit of groups is to speak with a cadence to keep everyone (more or less) in time with the recitation. By itself, that behavior caused the pause that led to a humorous article title in Education Week nearly forty years ago: "Out, Damned Comma! Out, I say!" But the problem is further muddied by a comment made so long ago by Robert Hogan, then director of member services for the National Council of Teachers of English. He claimed that either recitation style is correct—depending on your opinion.
"The question is whether 'under God' is restrictive," he said. "If you think it is restrictive, then you probably would not use the comma. But if you think 'under God' is just one way of describing the nation, then you would include the comma."
But if linguistically the matter can go either way, why the ruckus over the the most humble grammatical construct in our language, used or not used in a pledge that ironically includes the word, "indivisible?"
It is my hope that people notice the underlying issues that affect our (and any other) community. Argument, division, drama... these are the things that detract from our wonderful home. I believe I am not too bold in declaring that the malfeasance of a comma should never detract from our national pride. People are imperfect. But when we let our intolerance for imperfection grow, the behaviors that follow (no matter which side you're on) are undeniably undesirable.
Historian Shelby Foote, made famous for his com¬mentary during Ken Burns' documentary *The Civil War,* once said, “basically, [the Civil War] was a failure on our part to find a way not to fight that war. It was because we failed to do the thing we really have a genius for, which is compromise. Americans like to think of themselves as uncompromising. But our true genius is for compromise. Our whole government’s founded on it. And it failed.”
I believe our genius for compromise has failed in this circumstance, too. National pride fought Freedom of Expression and a banner that beautified our town and daily cemented our love of country—both the nation and the land—has been replaced by what just might be the most reflective metaphor of our nation today: an empty advertisement.
While you ponder the importance (or lack thereof) of a comma and the power the written language must have if a comma can lead to this much trouble, let me whisper in your ear another famous phrase relating to the Civil War. In Lincoln's first inaugural address he said, “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
