Why do we pledge allegiance to the flag? Let’s start
with the words themselves.
The verb Pledge has five meanings:
communication
: Promise
solemnly and formally.
possession
: Pay (an
amount of money) as a contribution to a charity or service, esp. at
regular intervals.
consumption
: Propose
a toast to.
communication
: Give
as a guarantee.
communication
: Bind
or secure by a pledge.
The word Allegiance has two meanings:
act: The act of binding
yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action.
attribute
: The loyalty
that citizens owe to their country.
As we use it in the "Pledge of Allegiance,"
the words Pledge and Allegiance mean all those things.
We promise solemnly and formally to honor our country
We agree to pay our taxes, our respects, and our lives
if necessary.
We propose a toast to the health of our country
We give our word as our guarantee.
And we bind or secure ourselves to our country.
The word Allegiance further adds the we bind ourselves
intellectually and emotionally to a course of action. That action is
upholding what our country stands for. And we agree to give our country
the loyalty that citizens owe to their country.
Okay, that said, what does it all mean?
In short, it means that we support our form of
government. We understand our rights as described in the Constitution and
we are prepared to live by the rule of law. We agree to fulfill our duties
and responsibilities as citizens in trade for the rights granted us as
citizens of the United States of America.
What exactly are these rights? The most basic are
freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and the right to petition the government
for a redress of grievances.
So, the words of the Pledge of Allegiance mean that we
give our word as guarantee that we bind ourselves to support these rights.
The Pledge of Allegiance started out as a poem by the
socialist minister Francis Bellamy in The Youth’s Companion magazine
in September 1891. Bellamy had been hired by the magazine after he lost
his post as Baptist minister due to his socialist sermons.
His original Pledge read as follows: 'I pledge
allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.' He considered placing the
word, 'equality,' in his Pledge, but knew that the state superintendents
of education on his committee were against equality for women and African
Americans.
Bellamy said, "The true reason for allegiance to
the Flag is the ‘republic for which it stands.’... we as a nation do
stand square on the doctrine of liberty and justice for all..."
Bellamy never intended his poem to become a public oath
and prayer, required of school children and ritualized at public
gatherings.
No one who supports the right of free speech and
supports liberty and justice for all would require someone else to speak
specific words. The idea of a required recitation is anathema to the words
themselves.
Patriotism, like religion, is personal, and best enjoyed
in the private realm. Each person may express patriotism and faith at
times and in ways that best suit his or her own choices and beliefs. That’s
what it means to enjoy the rights of citizenship in the republic
represented by the flag of the United States of America.
So, when we make it a ritual to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to this
flag, we are engaging in paradoxical behavior. We are requiring the
assembled group to forego the very freedom of speech and religion they are
endorsing. An oath and prayer that they have the Constitutional right not
to say. The required public recitation is the opposite of the intended
meaning of the words in the Pledge of Allegiance itself.
The intent of the Pledge of Allegiance was for one man
to state his personal heart-felt beliefs in a public forum – a right
guaranteed to him by the Constitution.
I support his right to do so. I honor his talent as a
poet who captured his patriotic sentiments so clearly and compellingly
that generations of Americans have felt stirred by his words. I also think
it is time we look at the meanings of those words and honor them.
A true honoring of our rights would be to cease
requiring public recitations of these or any other words. A true honoring
is to live their meaning. To open every gathering with freedom.
To this true valuing of our country, I pledge my
allegiance.
