When is the last time you said the Pledge of Allegiance? For me, it was yesterday morning. I was the keynote speaker for the monthly membership breakfast of a trade association. There were about 250 people in the room and we started with the pledge before we had breakfast. I might have done this once in the past couple of years on a visit to elementary school with one of my kids but not much beyond this. In a way the experience brings you back to school where we began our days with the Pledge and it almost feels simplistic as from a simpler more innocent time in our lives but let’s consider the words

“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.”

When we recited these words by rote as children we really didn’t know what the words meant or the importance of the words. Today, as adults we don’t recite the pledge and I wonder how many people even pause to consider the importance of the words. I know one of our fundamental liberties is freedom of speech so if you don’t like something you get to say it. I also know there are people who say if you are loyal to the nation then you have an obligation to be critical. But, how far down that path do you go?

Consider another pledge many take, the marriage vows, that normally end with “til death do you part” or “as long as you both shall live.” With the divorce rate hovering near 50% it would appear that pledge of love and commitment has lost its favor.

I hope that isn’t the case with the Pledge of Allegiance. What if only 50% of our population remained faithful to the Pledge of Allegiance? Maybe it isn’t that bad today but what if it got that way? I guess we would have an apathetic, fragmented nation without liberty and justice for all.

Maybe we should say the Pledge more often, just in case.

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