We went to the 5th grade awards ceremony at Max’s school the other day and they did the pledge of allegiance. This revived a thought I had previously and got me thinking again. A flag is just a banner, a piece of fabric ( or metal, paper whatever) that represents some place, country, team whatever. It has no meaning in and of itself. The US flag is just a banner with 13 stripes representing the original 13 states and a field of stars representing each of the current states. It is a graphical representation and nothing more. If you burn one or where it on your lapel or fly it from a pole it makes no real difference. Nothing changes except for getting a bunch of poseur patriots riled up. A flag doesn’t stop oppression, it doesn’t protect freedom, it doesn’t keep you safe. So why on earth would anyone pledge allegiance to a banner? If someone burns a flag does it affect you? And I’m not even going to get into the whole “Under God” issue. Just keep in mind that the supreme court punted on this whole issue. They did not even rule on whether that line is legal. They overturned the lower court on the grounds that the guy who filed the suit did not have standing to bring the suit.
On the other hand, we have a constitution. The US Constitution is the fundamental law of the United States. It defines the structure of the federal government it’s powers, responsibilities and limits. All other laws passed by the government must conform to the limits set forth in the constitution. If a law does something that is prohibited by the constitution it can and should be struck down by the supreme court. The constitution protects the people of the United States from oppression by the government. It ensures that people in this country cannot be arbitrarily searched or detained at the whim of the government. It protects us from being required to practice any specific religion. The constitution provides a means for dealing with president’s who ignore the laws of the land and who act against the best interests of the nation.
The constitution is what made the United States special in the first place. Without that document, there would be foundation for the nation that has achieved so much and garnered so much respect around the worlds over the last two centuries. We all need to respect and defend the fundamental principles that made America great. No one should be pledging allegiance to a banner. Children should be taught the bill of rights and pledge allegiance to the constitution.
pledge allegiance to the constitution not the flag