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As many of you know, the United States of America has a "Pledge of Allegiance" which most schoolchildren recite every morning in school. It goes:
Its original version was:
Over a few years, they swapped in some words to make it clear what "my Flag" was, to avoid confusing immigrant kids, and played wit the rhythm, ending up with what I believe the Pledge should say:
"Under God" was added in in 1954, for a number of weird reasons, and, in my opinion, it destroyed the meaning of the pledge.
Most people who have a problem with this think that it feels like an imposition of religion. But I've got a different objection.
The whole POINT of the pledge is to pledge to "One Nation, Indivisible," and that nation's flag.
Obviously, that was a very important thing to bring up just a generation out from the Civil War, when the Pledge was instituted, but it remains just as important, today. In a time when we keep talking about "Red America" and "Blue America", we ought to be talking about "One Nation, Indivisible."
When you say, "One Nation, Under God, Indivisible," the "indivisible" gets lost. And the "indivisible" is the single most important word in the pledge. The addition of "Under God" destroyed the purpose of the pledge. We ought to have all be growing up learning that we were "One Nation Indivisible", black, white, conservative, liberal, religious, atheist, and all else -- but all one nation, indivisible.
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.
Its original version was:
I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands,
one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Over a few years, they swapped in some words to make it clear what "my Flag" was, to avoid confusing immigrant kids, and played wit the rhythm, ending up with what I believe the Pledge should say:
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.
"Under God" was added in in 1954, for a number of weird reasons, and, in my opinion, it destroyed the meaning of the pledge.
Most people who have a problem with this think that it feels like an imposition of religion. But I've got a different objection.
The whole POINT of the pledge is to pledge to "One Nation, Indivisible," and that nation's flag.
Obviously, that was a very important thing to bring up just a generation out from the Civil War, when the Pledge was instituted, but it remains just as important, today. In a time when we keep talking about "Red America" and "Blue America", we ought to be talking about "One Nation, Indivisible."
When you say, "One Nation, Under God, Indivisible," the "indivisible" gets lost. And the "indivisible" is the single most important word in the pledge. The addition of "Under God" destroyed the purpose of the pledge. We ought to have all be growing up learning that we were "One Nation Indivisible", black, white, conservative, liberal, religious, atheist, and all else -- but all one nation, indivisible.