The Pledge of Allegiance. I think that many assume the Pledge of Allegiance has been part of the United States since the founding of the country. I was surprised that it wasn’t written until 1885 by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Civil War Union Officer, who later authored a book on how to teach patriotism to children in the public schools. In 1892 Francis Bellamy revised Balch’s verse. Bellamy was the circulation manager for the magazine “The Youth’s Companion”. The magazine sent 10,000 leaflets containing part of the Bellamy’s Pledge to schools across the country and on October 21 1892 over 10,000 children recited the verse together. Congress formally recognized the Pledge for the first time in 1942. In 1954 the words “Under God” were added officially to the pledge. The Bellamy Pledge was “I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. In 1924 the pledge was changed to “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” which was the revision that Congress approved in 1942.  With the rise of communism, and the banning of the church under the communist system, to separate ourselves from communism the words “under God” where added in 1954.

I grew up saying the Pledge of Allegiance  words everyday in School. My wife has been a teacher in both Wisconsin and in Florida and the Pledge was recited every day in the schools she taught at. In fact it is recited so much it kind of lost some of its meaning I think. With all the turmoil that we are experiencing today as a nation I think of those words. I hate to say this but I think that our Pledge takes things out of order or at least is being misinterpreted. Are we really pledging our loyalty to a piece of cloth that looks very majestic flying in the breeze? What we are pledging our allegiance to is the Republic of the United States which the Flag is just a symbol of . It is the symbol of one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. The Flag is not the most important word in the pledge. What is important, is, what that flag is suppose to represent, the Republic, a nation indivisible, liberty, justice, not for one group or political party but for all political parties. Not for one race but all races. Not for just one religion but for all religions. I for one have stopped saying “under God” when I recite the pledge. I stopped over 20 years ago. The reason is it doesn’t belong there. It wasn’t there originally and I don’t think that was an accident. When you bring religion it there is a start to making divisions and we are supposed to be on nation indivisible.  

Today I think that too many people have lost what that pledge is supposed to mean. Are you really pledging allegiance to a piece of cloth? I think we have lost that what we are pledging allegiance to what that piece of cloth represents. It represents the Republic of the United States of America. What makes us the Republic that we are? It is the Constitution of the United States. You can hug that piece of cloth and wave that piece of cloth all you want but unless you are truly embracing what that flag represent all you are doing is hugging and flying a piece of cloth. Too many have hugged that flag that have no clue that is represents the Constitution or what the even Constitution says. Too many have never read the Constitution. It is the Constitution that creates us, the Republic that we are, and if you don’t embrace that then the words of that pledge really have no meaning to you. As everyone was saying how they supported the Blue when our police were being criticized for the killing and the persecution of Black people I took a different approach. I stated that I supported the Constitution. With the comments that I got back you would have thought that I had completely turned my backs on the police. In Florida where I live the police have an oath of office which is “I do solemnly swear that I will support, protect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and of the State of Florida; that I am duly qualified to hold office under the Constitution of the State and that I will and well faithfully perform the duties on which I am now about to enter”. For me to say that I supported the Constitution is the very thing that the Police have sworn and oath to protect. Our Constitutional Rights, like the right to a fair trial, they have sworn to uphold. Every time a suspect is killed by law enforcement no matter what color we have to examine closely if that person’s Constitutional Rights have been violated. Those very rights that the Police have sworn to protect. Under that Constitution we all have rights that those law enforcement people have sworn to defend.

I think that we as a nation has many of us have gotten away from what that Flag Represents or what even what our National Anthem represents? Too many will hug the Flag and sing the National Anthem not really thinking of what they represent. Every person that was waving and turning our Flag into a weapon on January 6^th didn’t understand that flag represented just the opposite of what they were doing. That Flag is not a symbol of rebellion, that Flag is a symbol of the Constitutional process that the Congress was performing that day. The fact that too many turned that Flag into a weapon of that Constitutional process to me is one of the biggest crimes that happened that day. When I see the flag flying in front of someone’s house or from their personal vehicle I always wonder if he truly believes in that flag or are they flying it as a symbol of hate like it was used on January 6^th.

I know that I am sounding like I am lecturing on what my opinion is and you would be right. I just think that we need to be lectured more on what it means to be an American and what those oaths we recite mean to me.