When was the last time you recited the Pledge of Allegiance? Probably been a while, unless you’re weird like me. Can you see me standing in my office every morning and pledging allegiance to the American flag in the corner? I don’t do that, but I think I will, starting tomorrow.
Yes, I’m one of those millions of patriotic Americans who still takes pride in our great country.
It is so discouraging to see our popular culture and so many of our young citizens filled with hatred for America and our flag. Because of this, I think it is vital that we understand what our flag represents and what the Pledge of Allegiance means.
In addition, I believe that an accurate understanding of the principles upon which our country was founded should give all Americans a solid basis upon which most of us can agree.
Join me on a quick, line by line, explanation of the Pledge of Allegiance. I believe it will help us gain a better appreciation for this great and exceptional country.
Let’s go!
(Note: Bold print below are actual words of Pledge of Allegiance. Paragraph below each is my commentary.)
I pledge allegiance….
Upon my life and honor, I promise to be loyal, to defend her, and to seek only her best.
Not a lot different than the vows I expressed to my wife on our wedding day.
to the flag of the United States of America…
It’s not the cotton batting or threads of which it’s made. It’s not the red and white stripes or even the beautiful blue field of 50 stars. It is a pledge to uphold the ideas, principles, rights upon which our great country was founded. It is what the flag represents that deserves our pledge of allegiance.
And to the republic for which it stands….
Our form of government is not a democracy. “Huh? We are a democracy!”, you might say. We have a democratic form of government, but we are not a pure democracy. Our founders repeatedly warned of the dangers of democracy and purposely created ways to protect the few from rule by the many. Someone has said democracy is five wolves and a sheep voting on what’s for dinner.
We will leave this subject to another time, but understand we are a constitutional republic and that was intentional.
We are the first nation in the history of the world founded upon the principles stated in our Declaration of Independence, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. The Constitution and Bill of Rights were created to ensure, protect and guarantee those rights. Being a government “of the people, by the people and for the people”, she is worthy of my allegiance and defense, even though we are not perfect.
One Nation….
What makes and keeps hundreds of millions of people, with different backgrounds and experiences, many from other parts of the world, one? It is our common belief in the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and other founding documents; those rights given to us by our Creator. It is an understanding that our founding principles are based on Judeo-Christian values and in the great history of western civilization, such as Greece and Rome, the Magna Carta, the rule of law and capitalism, to give a few examples.
It is a common language, English. Those are the things that make our distinctly American culture. Those are the principles that make natural-born, naturalized citizens, and those who seek to be, “one nation”.
This is also why we are seeing so much division in our country today. We have a generation or two that have not been taught this. They have been taught the opposite.
They have had teachers and professors who emphasized the times when our people did not live up to the ideals and principles of our founding. They convinced these young and impressionable minds that these failures make our country evil. It is a lie. It reflects an immature and irrational understanding of history, and if this idea is not defeated our country will be destroyed, as founded. It is not our purpose here to explore our history or try to refute these claims, but for a very balanced presentation of our history, I highly recommend The Patriot’s History of the United States by Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen
Under God….
It is the recognition that our rights were not established in 1776, but were given us by our Creator. Our rights that are declared in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution are not created there, but are simply recognized there. They are natural rights, granted to us by God as humans, no matter the color of our skin, ethnic background or any other differences we have.
Indivisible…
With liberty and justice for all…
Every person is free to live their life and pursue happiness while not impeding on the rights of any other citizen. It is equal treatment under the law. There is no guarantee of equal results or even equal happiness, because to attempt to guarantee that would require that other citizen’s rights are violated.
As I stated earlier, many of our secondary schools and especially our colleges and universities teach the opposite of a perspective of honor and love for America. They are teaching that America was founded on racism, genocide, bigotry, unfairness, and not worthy of our allegiance.
America has never been perfect, and it never will be. We are the American experiment. We are in the 3rd century of determining if a people can self govern. Being made up of people who were a part of their time, we have not always reflected our best ideals. However, that does not nullify our ideals and our exceptional founding.
In many ways, our country has improved greatly over these centuries. It was because we lived in actuality the principles our founding documents enumerated.
We must see a closer adherence to our founding principles of personal liberty, personal responsibility, and smaller government if we hope to continue as the land of the free and the home of the brave.
I hope you will join me tomorrow in standing before your flag and reciting, with renewed pride and understanding, the Pledge of Allegiance.
God bless you and God bless America.
Further Reading: A Patriot’s History of the United States by Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen
