"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."
There are several versions of the pledge, but this is my favorite, used from 1924 to 1954. Most of the revisions to the original are relatively minor, revolving around changing my flag to the flag, and clarifying that it was the flag of the United States of America.
A more significant change occurred in 1954 when "under God" was inserted after"one nation". There was a religious revival going on at the time, and a great desire to distinguish themselves from the state atheism of communist countries, like Russia and China.
I reject the notion that a civic pledge should be mixed with a religious statement. I don't think it has any place in the pledge. Civic allegiance and religious allegiance are different things. You don't have to believe in God to support the civic principles of this country.
Given all our other problems, I recognize its inclusion as relatively de minimis, and I simply don't vocalize those two words when I say the pledge.
To me, the context of the whole phrase is essential. My allegiance to the flag is not based on a piece of cloth, but to the ideals that it stands for. My loyalty to it is not unconditional. We must live up to the ideals and dreams of an aspiring nation and people.
Without continually striving for liberty and justice for all, the flag is relatively meaningless. When I see it, I don't swell with pride for a patch of dirt, for a manifest-destinied land from sea to sea.
I see a people that have strived to make these words meaningful - that all men are created equal, that all should have equal opportunities to succeed and thrive and pursue happiness.
What swells me with pride is the brilliant system of checks and balances that our forefathers put into the constitution. Those checks and balances are now under siege by the type of tyrannical demagogue our founding fathers feared, but the flag and the positive direction of this country give me hope that we will right ourselves and survive.
What swells me with pride is the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, the civil rights movements of the 60s, the rights that have been gained by the LGBTQ community. What we have achieved is far from over, and we do have resistance and setbacks. But I trust in the American character as symbolized by the flag. We will overcome.
What swells me with pride is the achievements of unionists and progressives in making life better for the average working person. A nation is only as strong as it's middle class. Recently, unions are under siege, and the income gap has been accelerated. The middle class is disappearing again. But the flag gives me hope that this increasing division will not last forever.
Most of the time, when I see the flag burned, it is not because of deep-seated hatred of this country. It is often because those who desecrate it feel like the ideals of this country, the very foundation of what the flag is supposed to stand for, have already been desecrated. They feel like what the flag stands for has been hijacked in favor of hatred and exploitation and racism and militarism and jingoism and blind nationalism.
I would never burn the flag, or desecrate it. Furthermore, I wouldn't make clothing out of it, or any other kitschy creation. I try to see through to what the flag ideally stands for. It is not the flag that falls short. It is the country, or at least those who would take the country in a less democratic direction, one where justice and opportunity are not shared equally.
But I would not criminalize those who do. In fact, it is not criminal to do so, although many believe otherwise.
To do so would be to turn traitor to the very principles of which the flag stands for.
And that is what I will turn my back on. No matter how dark it gets.
I pledge allegiance to what the flag stands for.
Our dream- no matter how imperfectly achieved - one nation indivisible with liberty and JUSTICE for ALL.
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