Pledge of Allegiance

There have been three versions of the Pledge of Allegiance since it was first written.  The original version titled “Salute to the Flag” and written by Francis Bellamy in 1892, read “I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands:  one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Version two, as established by the National Flag Conferences of 1923 and 1924 read:  “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.” 

Version three, which stands today, is “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.”  This version was signed into law by President Eisenhower in 1954.  At that time the “cold war” was raging between the U. S. and the Soviet Union, and the words were incorporated to emphasize that the Soviets were “Godless communists”.

In my opinion, the current version is the worst of the three and does a lot to support the maxim of Occam’s Razor; that is to say, the simplest solution is usually the best solution.  When the words, “under God” were added to the pledge in 1954, chaos (not to mention controversy) followed.  Some people said “one nation under God”, with no pause between “nation” and “under”, as the new version read, while other people said, “one nation, under God” with a pause at the comma.  Still other people said something in between.  Ever since the words “under God” were added to the pledge, every public recitation of it has been a hash.  As a result, a lot of people don’t know really what it says and don’t really give a you-know-what.

Moreover, the pledge as it now exists is an insult to Americans who are atheists.  I am not an atheist, but under the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, Congress “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.