Proposal: Modify Pledge of Allegiance

Posted by Floathy@reddit | Libertarian | View on Reddit | 13 comments

I always thought the pledge of allegiance was really weird, like why are children saluting and promising to defend the government??

We could always get rid of it, but I propose we modify a words

ONE NATION UNDER GOD, -> change "nation" to "people": we're not defending the country or the government, we're defending the american people. and of course, get rid of "under god", i propose "under law"

so it becomes

"I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS,

ONE PEOPLE UNDER LAW, INDIVISIBLE,

WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL."

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firepikeru@reddit

While your proposal aims to shift focus from nation to people, it's worth noting that the Pledge wasn't originally about defending the government but unifying diverse Americans around shared ideals.

The "under God" phrase wasn't even in the original 1892 version - it was added during the Cold War (1954) to distinguish America from "godless communism." Many libertarians actually oppose the Pledge entirely, regardless of wording, as they view mandatory patriotic recitation as contradicting the very liberty it claims to uphold.

If we're discussing changes from a libertarian perspective, perhaps the more fundamental question is whether government institutions should lead children in pledging allegiance to anything at all. The Supreme Court rule

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“I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands—one Nation indivisible—with liberty and justice for all.”

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Kv603@reddit

of course, get rid of "under god", i propose "under law"

Why "under law" instead of just restoring the original Bellamy pledge pledge as of 1892?

Congress meddled with the phrasing in 1942, then added the "under god" bit in 1954.

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drones_on_about_bees@reddit

Just put it back to the original.

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VinnieWilson02@reddit

Law is often unjust, I'd rather not pledge myself to that.