Creating A New Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States can be a good thing when spoken the right way by the right person at the right time. If you have never heard Red Skelton's reading of the Pledge of Allegiance and his explanation of its meaning as it was taught to him, I urge you to do a Google search to find it and listen. I think you will find it a wonderful experience.

But, I think the pledge also does some harm at times, and it would be marvelous to replace it with a better pledge that focuses on something other than a piece of cloth (I hope you forgive me for calling the United States flag a piece of cloth, because I do respect that cloth that symbolizes the United States.).

Some persons are offended by the current pledge, because of the reference to "under God." Some oppose pledging allegiance to a flag, which is a piece of cloth, rather than to something more important. And some may oppose the concept of a pledge completely.

Tradition 
I know the current pledge has a lot of tradition.  Many oppose changing it in any way. It has probably been happily and lovingly recited by millions of people multiple times.

As a child, I often enjoyed patriotically reciting the pledge. I considered it almost sacrilegious when persons desecrated the flag in some way. Tears would come to my eyes when I heard Johnny Cash singing his popular song "Ragged Old Flag" on the radio.

And I will repeat my request in the first paragraph of this piece for persons who haven't done so to listen to Red Skelton's rendition of the pledge. I think you will find it a moving experience.

But there is another side to the story. The pledge can be used to promote chauvinistic nationalism (as I feel Hitler did with the Nazi flag), at the expense of loving patriotism that cares for all people of all countries while being devoted to one's own.      

The current pledge seems to imply that the United States is always right and always to be supported. Blind obedience is not true patriotism. In contrast, true patriotism seeks to follow righteousness and truth to make oneself, one's neighborhood, one's country, and the world a better place. As United States Senator Carl Schurz stated long before I was born in his own definition of patriotism: "My country right or wrong. When right, to keep right; when wrong, to put right."

The picture above of a United States flag flying near the courthouses in Lexington, Kentucky was taken by me (James E. Gibson) on October 23, 2016. A United States flag flies prominently near many government buildings in this country, as well as many other places.

Under God in the Pledge
The words "under God" in the pledge may correctly imply that we are only to obey the country when it is obedient to God, but some may interpret the terms "under God" to imply that the United States is always to be obeyed because it is always obedient to God.

While I like having a reference to God in the pledge, I think a reference to obedience to the highest righteous authority (which I consider to be God) is adequate. This preserves the concept of God while better exemplifying the freedom of religion that many of our Founding Fathers supported. Remember that persons like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin wanted freedom of religion for Muslims and those of other faiths than Christianity, probably even atheists and agnostics. And "under God" was not added to the Pledge of Allegiance until 1954.

My Pledge of Allegiance
Some may feel that a pledge is not needed at all, but I feel that righteous values need to be instilled in some way. And I feel that a pledge to righteous living is one way to help instill those values.
   
Over five years ago, I wrote what I consider an improved Pledge of Allegiance, which I published on Newsvine.com on May 31, 2011 as part of an article titled "A New Pledge of Allegiance: Poll" (which this Google Blogger article I am posting today is adapted from). I reprint that pledge here: "I pledge allegiance to seeking to help make the United States a better country by seeking to be obedient to the highest righteous authority and to always be truthful in a loving way, seeking appropriate liberty and justice for all."

I now seek to revise my own pledge to make it better, by having it state: "I pledge allegiance to seek to always do right, to seek to always be obedient to the highest righteous authority, to seek to always be truthful in a loving way, to seek appropriate liberty and justice for all, and to help make myself, my family, my friends, my neighborhood, my country, and my world better by improving my own behavior."

My revised pledge is not perfect, and I welcome suggestions on how to improve it. But I feel that mine is superior to the current one. I give the highest righteous authority, God's Holy Spirit, credit for any good in my pledge; I take responsibility for any failings in it, and I hope no one is offended. Even if you disagree with me, I hope you will respect my right to my view, as I respect your right to yours.

NOTE: This article was last modified on October 23, 2016 when I added the photo of a flag.