As I have written numerous times, the Pledge of Allegiance may well be the most sarcastic paragraph our children have ever been convinced (or coerced) into reciting. First, make no mistake - it is recited. We don't talk like this. "I pledge allegiance (pause) to the flag (pause) of the.........etc." It's like a first grader reading his cloth book to Daddy. I've also pointed out that a Boy Scout oath tacked onto a paragraph written by a socialist is not the ideal vehicle for showing one's fealty to our corporate-owned society.
That said, let's go into the idea obeing f pledging allegiance to a Republic. Republics are a form of democracy wherein the people elect representatives to pass laws according to the will of the majority. According to recent polls, approximately 80% of the people don't trust their representatives further than they could lift them - and in the case of some, that's not very far. The Supreme Court and the President are more popular, but not by a whole lot. So where's the Republic we're pledging allegiance to?
"One nation?" In your dreams. We've seen states officially order their judicial branches to defy lawful orders of the federal government and nobody seems to have taken any action. "Indivisible?" Ask the people in Texas who want to secede. "Under God?" Whose god? Well, our Christian god, of course.
So here comes the kicker. "Liberty and Justice for all." Please stop for a moment and examine this vital phrase. It is, after all, the spine of our nation and the base upon which the United States has separated ourselves from other industrialized nations and upon which is based "American exceptionalism."
So how many of you can honestly say that, regardless of being rich or poor, all of us can rely upon being treated equally when we're stopped for a traffic light or miss a rent payment or two? How many can rely on equal justice if we're sentenced for a crime? And, once sentenced, how many of us can rest assured we'll be locked up in similar faciities?
And yet, our children - and many of we adults - are asked to say the Pledge of Allegiance every time we assemble, as if we'll forget it in between times. Furthermore, saying it, complete with pauses, proves that we are truly Americans. Some feel that those who refuse to mouth the words are in reality traitors or even terrorists, despite evidence that the louder some say the Pledge, the more likely they're on the take. If you doubt, examine the recent convictions of bribe-takers in our Congress by people who wrap themselves in the flag with the same fervor they flash their flagpins. While you're at it, find out how many of the bribers get nailed.
The point of this diatribe isn't to denigrate the Pledge or the sentiments which no doubt inspired it. It is, instead, a plea to spend perhaps a little less time saying it and a lilttle more making it a reality.