Pledge a new allegiance to the ideal America

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By Melissa Coulter | Saturday, February 17, 2007 12:08 AM CST | () comments

Melissa Coulter

This week on QCTimes.com, Teenager revealed, “I don’t say the pledge at school or anywhere anymore. I love my country, but right now I don’t agree with what it’s doing, so I’m not going to support it.”

I don’t remember the last time I was called upon to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I wonder if it would feel awkward to say it today. Would it still seem as authentic as it did when I stood a few decades ago, hand over heart, face raised to the stars and stripes hanging in the corner of my second-grade classroom?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands...

Alright, I admit I always thought it was weird to show fealty to a piece of material. But this particular arrangement of red, white and blue embodies the ideals of this great Republic. It evokes strong emotions and often tears. But those tears today, according to some commenters, are born of distress that the ideals of this Republic have been changed, distorted, without the permission of the American people.

Mel wrote, “If anything is a threat to our nation, it’s that: 1) The perpetrators of 9/11 got clean away while we concentrate on Iraq who had nothing to do with it; 2) We are ruining our standing in the world with this pre-emptive, failing war in Iraq; 3) We are ruining our economy with favors to the rich and the ever-rising national debt; and 4) We maintain a president who is so obviously incompetent.”

I see how Teenager could give up here.

... one nation, under God ...

Whose God? Peter Sickels wrote a letter to the editor this week stating, “The Christianity that I follow condemns killing.” He asks, “When will our people of faith stop justifying killing just because it’s done in an American military uniform?”

Vox Populi responded, “ ‘Thou shalt not kill’ seems about as straightforward a commandment as you can get, but that doesn’t matter to the people who support this war and this president.”

Is America blessed by a loving deity or by a vengeful higher power?

... indivisible ...

This is where I choke up. As Clarissa Fowler’s Wednesday letter, “Seeking the source of American division,” illustrates, this nation is already split in any number of ways. Clarissa asks where this division comes from in an attempt to learn how to fix it. Most commenters were pessimistic that unity was possible.

Division Is How People Maintain Power and Control wrote, “They have to pit you against something so that they can ‘solve’ your problem and protect you. There’s nothing to gain from peace and harmony, but a lot to gain from war and division.”

And yet, as voters call for bipartisanship in Congress and presidential candidates campaign on unity and common ground, it is obvious that Americans yearn to be indivisible.

... with liberty and justice for all.

The fact that we are so divided as a nation all but precludes liberty and justice from being evenly distributed.

Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance can be painful. It reminds us of what this nation can be; of what it once was in our minds and hearts, if not in reality; of how far we have to go to live up to the vision of our nation’s founders.

Instead of remaining frustrated in silence, we should scream out the Pledge of Allegiance every time we see injustice, subjugation, division and hate. We should say it every morning when we wake up and every night before we sleep as a reminder of who we can be as a people and why we really do love America. It can be the silent prayer of our leaders every time they are tempted to make decisions out of loyalty to special interests and personal gain rather than allegiance to the United States.

Dissecting the pledge line by line helped me realize this: When I pledge my allegiance to the flag, I am not blindly promising to support the country as it stands, but rededicating my commitment to build the Republic I know in my heart can exist.

Melissa Coulter writes on the comments posted online at www.qctimes.com. Contact her at (563) 383-2243 or at mcoulter@qctimes.com.