The PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

A Meditation on a Deviation

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation (under God), indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." 

I like the Pledge of Allegiance the way it is (preferring it without the “under God” because that wasn’t there in its original form). It’s short, simple, direct, and outlines the most basic fundamentals of what this country is about. I do have some qualms (as a Christian) of pledging my allegiance to either a country or flag because my religion warns me to guard against idolatry, but as long as the nation seeks unity and works for “liberty and justice for all,” I can live with that little bit of heresy.

There is another pledge at work, though, that is at cross purposes with our Pledge of Allegiance. It is antithetical to principles of liberty and justice, and promotes division in place of unity. It goes something like this:

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America (actually, let’s add a blue stripe so white folks who kneel on the necks of brown folks, and who gun down the innocent will know we have their backs),

and to the Republic for which it stands (but really, we mean Republicans and MAGAniacs whereby the only people and states who count have bent the knee to the only person of color they obey (Orange),

one Nation (Oh hell no .. only states – specifically red states, especially gerrymandered red states and the esteemed leader so that “one Nation” really refers to and is embodied by the divinely inspired unitary Executive),

under God (let’s be clear, we mean the right wing God who inspires us to kill all the women, children, and men we count as foreigners or who refuse to bend the knee to the divine esteemed leader),

indivisible (once we get rid of all the riff-raff),

with liberty (to say and do what we (the "right") permit)

and justice (laws enforced on a sliding scale from most justice (by which we mean punishment and death) of the poorest, weakest,  and most colored, to symbolic enforcement toward the measly rich, to complete exoneration of the obscenely rich (by which we mean: what crimes? I don’t see no stinking crimes!)

for all (See, we (the right) DO have a sense of humor).

I guess when it comes to the pledge, I'm going to be an originalist. I have no respect for the orange person's creed. Indeed!

Happy Fourth of July, folks.