The Controversial Pledge of Alligiance?

In the first week of my CRT 205 Critical Thinking class I was shocked to read this as one of our first assignments. Quote:"The following are excerpts from the ruling by a three judge federal appeals court panel in San Francisco that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional because it includes the phrase "one nation under God." The vote was 2 to 1. Judge Alfred T. Goodwin wrote the majority opinion, in which Judge Stephen Reinhardt joined. Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez wrote a dissent."(Moore-Parker:Critical Thinking 7^th edition)

I was asked to write a rebuttal to an article which agreed that the pledge of allegiance was unconstitutional. I have since taken a look at the opinions of the Supreme Court judges and I don't see any way that they could have made another descision but it still Rankles. I am more in agreement with the following article about the Pledge of Allegiance and it's meaning to us as American. I found this under the search term, "The pledge of Allegiance."

In 1892, 1923, 1924 and 1954 the American people demonstrated enough concern about the actual words in the Pledge to make some necessary changes. Today there may be a tendency among many Americans to recite "by rote" with little thought for the words themselves. Before continuing with our tour, let's examine these 31 words a little more thoroughly.

I Pledge Allegiance

I Promise to be faithful and true (Promise my loyalty)

to the flag

to the emblem that stands for and represents

of the United States

all 50 states, each of them individual, and individually represented on the flag

of America

yet formed into a UNION of one Nation.

and to the Republic

And I also pledge my loyalty to the Government that is itself a Republic, a form of government where the PEOPLE are sovereign,

for which it stands,

this government also being represented by the Flag to which I promise loyalty.

one Nation under God,

These 50 individual states are united as a single Republic under the Divine providence of God, "our most powerful resource" (according to the words of President Eisenhower)

Indivisible,

and can not be separated. (This part of the original version of the pledge was written just 50 years after the beginning of the Civil War and demonstrates the unity sought in the years after that divisive period in our history)

with Liberty

The people of this Nation being afforded the freedom to pursue "life, liberty, and happiness",

and Justice

And each person entitled to be treated justly, fairly, and according to proper law and principle,

for All.

And these principles afforded to EVERY AMERICAN, regardless of race, religion, color, creed, or any other criteria. Just as the flag represents 50 individual states that can not be divided or separated, this Nation represents millions of people who can not be separated or divided.

Thus it is that when you Pledge Allegiance to the United States Flag, You:

*Promise your loyalty to the Flag itself.
*Promise your loyalty to your own and the other 49 States.
*Promise your loyalty to the Government that unites us all,
Recognizing that we are ONE Nation under God,
That we can not or should not be divided or alone,
And understanding the right to Liberty and Justice belongs to ALL of us. Sterner (2007)

The principal issues as I see them are that the Pledge of Allegiance contains the words "under God" and thus do not present a clear delineation between church and state.. The other issue that is pertinent here is that no one is forced to say the pledge of allegiance if they choose not to offer up allegiance to the country in which they live and receive their education. The idea that mention of God in school flies in the face of our constitution or in the right of American's to believe in whatever they wish to. As the pledge of allegiance is an old an honored tradition of the American school day I feel that it should remain as it always has.

In response to the question of whether the pledge of allegiance should be recited daily in schools, I think that in schools on American Soil and American Military Instillations around the world, the pledge should be given every day. Saying the pledge of Allegiance before school reminds us of who we are as countrymen and what that means to each citizen. I also feel that to give respect and allegiance to the country in which you live previous to the school day is like saying grace previous to a meal. Most religions have some sort of way of offering thanks previous to meals, regardless of what deity or religion is practiced in the home. Other organizations have their oaths and pledges, such as the Boy & Girl scouts, publicly elected offices, and the Toastmasters are some of the organizations that a pledge or oath.

I also do not fee l that the words "One nation under God" espouses belief or the practices of any one religion over another or denotes any specific religion at all. I think that the complainants for removing the pledge of allegiance have lost sight of the larger issues facing out children today and that they are wasting valuable tax dollars and the time of this Court in this suit. The Pledge of allegiance is no danger or threat to atheists, non-believer, or the faithful in any religion. It is a beautiful and patriotically significant old tradition and I feel that it should remain in place, unchanged, as it has been recited in the American classroom for years.

I feel that there is absolutely nothing wrong in affirming each school day that your allegiance is to the country in which you live and the tenets of that country as represented by the flag. We name the qualities for which our nation fought and lost many soldiers in order to freely engage in these qualities and to be able to promise them to anyone who wished to come to our country and begin a better life here. Patriotism is an important factor in the quality of the characters which we wish to build during their educational career. No one is nitpicking about the promises of "Liberty and Justice for all", which negate the inference that we would be trying to force a belief and worship of God in this country. After all the first statement is "I pledge allegiance to the flag..." not a pledge of allegiance to the God of which they speak. In the end I am left thinking if the pledge of allegiance is now unconstitutional then change the constitution. Amend it, it had been amended before. I think that the pledge of allegiance should remain in schools.

REFERENCES

Moore-Parker:Critical Thinking Appendix 1 section 3 (2004). Critical Thinking 7th edition [Electronic Version]. CITY OF PUBLISHER UNKNOWN: McGraw-Hill Publishing.

C. Douglas Sterner (2007). The pledge of allegiance. Retrieved retrieved 2-11-2007, from http://www.homeofheroes.com/hallofheroes/1st_floor/flag/1bfc_pledge.html