PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Most of us have spent our entire lives pledging allegiance to the flag. The next time you say the Pledge, and for the rest of your lives, think about what you are saying, and really, really mean it.

Edward Bellamy is generally given credit for writing the original version of the Pledge in 1892. His version begins with “I pledge allegiance to my Flag.” My Flag. He was an owner, just like every other American. He wasn’t excluding people, he was including them, because the flag belongs to all of us.

We used to criticize people who wrapped themselves in the flag, because that always masks selfish motives. Don’t be fooled, such people are not patriots, they are demagogues.

Bellamy also pledged allegiance to the Republic, for which the flag stands.  A Republic which empowers the people to elect representatives to govern on their behalf, settles nearly every question using democratic practices, usually follows the rule of law, and tries to make decisions in the best interests of Americans.

Edward Bellamy’s version of the Pledge of Allegiance ends with the promise that America will be “one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Some politicians don’t want us to be one nation or indivisible. By crafting messages and policies to promote division, avoiding transparency, and skirting the rule of law they hope to hide their real goal of seizing as much power and money as possible before they leave. 

America has been moving away from our promise to provide liberty and justice for all in recent years. Some of our leaders want groups in our nation to have less liberty and little justice. It is past time to move back to what we promise every time we say the Pledge of Allegiance.

Americans have been promising to be “one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” since 1892. Don’t let those be empty words. If we mean what we say, they should be goals for all of us to try and meet. Every day.