One Nation &^%($# ***

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation #!@*$ *** indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

My formative years, in the mid 1970’s, were spent in rural New York, in the small town of Chittenango. Besides great trout fishing and a pretty falls, Chittenango wasn’t known for much except for being the hometown of Frank Oz, the author of The Wizard of Oz.

Even as a young boy, I would walk (yes, walk) across the road and down the street to the public elementary school that I attended. Each morning, there would be a crackle over the Public Address system, and the principal would call each class room to attention, we would stand erect, place our hands over our hearts, and recited with a pride that never diminished,

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.

Chittenango was not a very diverse town; our students were mainly Caucasian, mostly lower middle class. But there was one thing we did have in common: we were proud of our nation and our heritage. There we stood, day after day, Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Wesleyans, Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics (there were not many Baptists in New York) reciting with vigor that America, the land which we loved, was a nation “under God.”

Now, today, the Pledge is under attack. During the June 19, 2011 coverage of the U.S. Open Golf Tournament, ironically held this year in our Nation’s Capital, NBC aired a clip, which they described as “patriotic” which omitted the phrase, “under God.” Perhaps in an even greater irony, just six days prior, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal (Freedom From Religion Foundation, Petitioner v. United States, et al.), that was seeking to overturn a November 12, 2010 decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston which affirmed a lower federal court which found that the pledge's reference to God is not a violation of students' rights.

I am familiar enough with American history to know that the pledge is relatively young, written by a Baptist Minister in 1842, although it was not officially adopted until 1942. And I realize that it was not until a 1954 joint resolution of Congress that the words “under God” where added to the pledge. But what is not a recent concept is that America, as a nation has a “godly” heritage. Listen to the words of some of Founding Fathers:

"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure if we have removed their only firm basis: a conviction in the minds of men that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever." - Thomas Jefferson

"The United States of America were no longer Colonies. They were an independent nation of Christians." - John Quincy Adams

"Without a humble imitation of the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, we can never hope to be a happy nation." - George Washington

“We have staked the whole future of our new nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.” - James Madison

The Pledge of Allegiance does not establish who God is, how God should be worshipped. It does not even propose a “name” for God. It does not establish religion, but rather establishes that America is a land where religion can be expressed freely, openly, proudly, and publicly.I for one, will stand with my hand over my heart, and proudly proclaim:

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.

Though he was certainly not a “Founding Father,” let me leave you with the thoughts of another American President:

"If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under." - Ronald Reagan