I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE

What does it mean?

Background image: Our Banner in the Sky by Frederic Edwin Church. [1]

Allegiance is an obligation from an individual to an entity. It could be to an omnipotent lord; to a nation or foreign power; to a religion or political party.

What does that Flag, our flag, represent? The American flag dates to the mid-to-late 1770s. It is a sacred symbol of a country conceived in blood and courage, with a disinterested commitment to decency, veracity, fairness, liberty.

Which Republic? Even the Confederacy took elements of the U S flag as its own.

Nazi and Confederate flags led marches and events in recent years, including the attack on Congress on January 6, 2021, instigated by then POTUS 45 who is now POTUS 47.

The aim of the pledge is to unite one Nation, to accommodate a diversity of peoples and ideas.

Whose God is it naming? Which gods? How about no gods, if you so believe?

If the nation is to be indivisible, why are the fascist POTUS supporters fragmenting the country through divisive speech?

Americans have wielded the flag for the cause of liberty and justice— engrained elements in our culture and national mystique, or so we thought until now.

How do the following issues provide for liberty and justice?

· A budget passed through brute force by the slight GOP majority in Congress benefitting the industrial-military complex, and wealthy oligarchs, at the expense of the weak.

· Suppression of civil rights by a POTUS and GOP regime that implements tyranny over us.

· A SCOTUS that aids and abets the POTUS’ agenda.

· A Department of Justice investigating opponents of the current fascist regime.

· Dismantling public safety, health, and environmental regulations that protect us.

· A POTUS imposing taxes on consumers through tariffs unapproved by Congress.

How comfortable should we feel in carelessly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance?

Politicians pin American flags to their lapels. Are they fulfilling their pledge?

I want to pledge allegiance to the flag of a country that:

· is compassionate.

· is benevolent to the downtrodden.

· protects the environment and the commons for the benefit of all creatures.

· protects the civil rights and interests of all persons.

· promotes decency and honesty in government.

Can we make this happen?

To what do you pledge allegiance?

20250721

Links of interest:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_glory

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_States

[1]This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930.