The Pledge of Allegiance


Ah, a much-talked-about thing, the Pledge of Allegiance. Unless you live under a rock or something, you've heard about the California atheist dedicated to removing "under God" from in the pledge. I agree with him.

First off, America is *not* a Christian country. It was founded by men who belonged to a group called Deists, who believe God created the world and then left us alone. Also, the First Amendment (lovely thing, isn't it?) guarantees us the right to freedom of (or from) religion. Most of my friends are atheists. They do not believe in a god and do not like having to respond to one every morning at school. Some of my friends are Pagans who worship a goddess. One of my friends is a Satanist. The point is, they don't worship a particular "god".

Certainly, I understand that "god" can be used as any culture's god. But I'm trying to stress my point here--some people do not acknowledge a divine force in any way. Why force them to say things that they do not believe? "Under god" was added in 1954, during the Cold War, primarily to prove that America was a Christian country (once again, it isn't) and the Soviet Union wasn't. Originally, it was written without those two words and everybody got on fine. So why can't we revert back to using the original version?

While we're on the subject of the pledge, I think pledging allegiance to the flag is a bit of a silly idea. Sure, it's a lovely symbol of unity, but it's just cloth stitched together in pretty colors, reminding us that we came from thirteen colonies and formed fifty states. Lovely. But it really doesn't symbolize much, even if you look to color symbolism. Courage, honor, and unity. In their own ways, other countries have them, too. So what makes America unique? What should we pledge allegiance to?

I propose we pledge allegiance to the spirit of freedom. The Spirit of Freedom is forever present in the United States, and it's something that only a smattering of other countries have, near-total freedom. In my opinion, at least, it's better than a cloth banner. Or we could pledge allegiance to the words of the Constitution. They are what bring the spirit of freedom to life. They mean something beyond courage, unity, and honor. Those words are what makes the United States the United States.

Gives you something to ponder, doesn't it?

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