TheDiscipleMD

“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,”

I grew up repeating the above pledge my entire school life. I often said it because…well, that’s what we did each school morning. Every once in a while, I would ponder the words and their significance. When I did, I always felt good about it. It wasn’t so much the allegiance to my county that resonated, although I was always proud to be an American, it was the last part that penetrated.

“One Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

And although I knew the country had its problems, and what country doesn’t, it was the ideal that we were “indivisible” and believed in “liberty and justice for all” and that God was watching over us. I mean, who wouldn’t want to aspire to those principles? In a time when ‘division’ seems to be the norm, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could learn to get along, respecting liberty while still being united in an overall goal of justice under the watchful eye of a creator?

So, while in many places, the “Pledge of Allegiance” is no longer spoken or welcomed, I’m grateful I grew up in a time where the opportunity to repeat the lofty ideas my county was striving to be was verbalized daily. I can’t help but believe that it made me a more thoughtful, kinder, and, therefore, a better person for so doing.