creed:
from the Latin word credo, the first word ("I believe") of the
Apostles' and Nicene creeds: a brief, authoritative formula of
religious belief; 2: a set of fundamental beliefs... pledge:
from Late Latin plebere, to pledge; ...a solemn promise
or agreement to do or forbear...
From: Webster's
Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary ________________________________________________________________________
For those of us old
enough to have learned the Pledge of Allegiance without the words
"under God" inserted between "one nation" and "indivisible," dropping
it from the Pledge wouldn't be hard. In fact, during all the years
that I taught school, I had the devil's own time remembering to
put it in.
I learned the Pledge
of Allegiance at the age of five, and things learned by rote in
kindergarten create powerful pathways in the brain. To this day,
for instance, in pressured moments when I need to discern swiftly
my left from my right, I just mentally start the Pledge, and my
right hand rises toward my heart. My kindergarten teacher, Miss
Helen (I never knew her last name), often stood behind me as I
said the Pledge, quietly took my right hand and placed it across
my chest, because she knew that I was having difficulty learning
the concept of left/right. That dear lady gave me a lifetime tactile
memory that has served me well.
I do not recall anyone
ever discussing the meaning of the Pledge with me. Perhaps
during those wartime years, we didn't need to have it spelled
out, or perhaps its meaning just sank in as we matured, over the
years and years of opening every school morning with it.
We stopped saying the
Pledge every day at some point during high school. "...under God"
was inserted in 1954, the year I graduated. I remember thinking
that I'd have trouble saying the Pledge with the new words in
it, but I don't think I ever had to do so until, at the age of
37, I started teaching school.
By that time (the '70's),
the mandatory saying of the Pledge had disappeared from the classroom,
possibly because of the cynicism and heightened sensitivities
that resulted from the Vietnam experience. A few of us began to
reintroduce it in the 80's, which is when I found myself stumbling
over that "under God," not because of principle but because I
just wasn't used to it.
The children in my
class learned it readily enough, but I could tell that they had
absolutely no idea of the meaning of what they were saying. I
decided to take it one phrase at a time, and let them know exactly
what they were saying, thus:
I pledge
- I promise
allegiance
- to be loyal, to stay faithful
to the flag - to the beautiful symbol that represents
our country: thirteen stripes for the first states; fifty stars
for all the states that now make up America
of the United States of America - our country has
a name, just as you do
and to the republic for which it stands - our country
belongs to its people (citizens), and not to a king
one nation under God - one country with fifty states
and many, many people
indivisible - nobody can split it up into separate
countries
with liberty and justice for all - where everyone
can live free and be treated fairly
This process made me
stop and think about the one phrase with which I had trouble:
"...under God" seemed to be a sticking point for me, and not just
because I wasn't used to it. I was acutely aware that not all
my students came from families that believed what the majority
of their peers did. Who was I to imply that they should accept
what others believed to be true? Still, the phrase was there,
and I taught it dutifully if without emphasis.
Back when our nation
was founded, agnostics and/or atheists probably existed, but I
doubt they dared to speak loudly about their lack of belief. Those
days weren't all that long separated from the time when Christians
were killing each other because they were on opposite sides of
the Roman Catholic/Protestant debate (much as the factions in
Ireland have done, or as the differing factions of Islam are doing
now).
Christianity was, at
first, the only accepted religion in the Colonies. Consider that
there was a lot of comment from Christians in other colonies when
Rhode Island allowed the first synagogue to be built. It amazes
me that our founding fathers were brave enough to refer only to
"divine providence" without giving it a name.
The one thing they
made absolutely clear was that the State had no business promoting
one religion over another. Our modern-day agnostics and atheists
have interpreted this to mean that having no religion should also
be protected under law, and the courts have upheld their rights.
I know many good and
loyal citizens who do not believe in the same God that I do. I
doubt that belief in God should be a condition for voting, or
serving in the military, or being on a jury. I know agnostics
who are upright, moral, persons with high principles, whose consciences
cause them to do what is commonly agreed to be right, without
the promise of heaven or the threat of hell hanging over them.
They say that there
are no atheists in foxholes, but I suspect that there have been
plenty of atheists and agnostics who have died for this country.
It seems to me that
those of us who have trouble accepting the deletion of "...under
God" from the Pledge of Allegiance are confusing a promise of
citizenship with a statement of belief.
One of the first things
I learned in Sunday School (right after the Lord's Prayer) was
the Apostle's Creed. It begins: "I believe..." and
it spells out the basic tenets of the Christian faith.
As noted, the Pledge
of Allegiance begins: "I pledge..." and it speaks
of a citizen's promise to be loyal to his country.
Atheists don't question
our right to stand up and recite the Apostles' Creed. They do
question our right to make them speak of belief when they are
reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
The insertion of the
words "under God" implies that the promiser acknowledges a higher
power, which is a matter of belief, not promise. Pledging to be
loyal to the republic is an affirmation that in America we are
a free people, with liberty and justice for all. We have
the right to believe (or not to believe) as we like, without coercion
or fear.
It is, perhaps, time
to revert to the earlier version of the Pledge.
