I Pledge Allegiance: To Liberty, EQUALITY, and Justice For All
By: Kevin Wanke
Tags: Justice, Pledge Of Allegiance, Equality, Change, BlackLivesMatter

As reflecting ALL social issues and discourses, there is a very large and conflicting history wrapped up in some simple words in the Pledge of Allegiance.

There have been many statements, attempts, and court cases attempting to change, modify, and use this statement for many purposes.

It is up to us as a society to understand the history and etymology of this expression. It is also our responsibility to change this to ensure that these words that are still spoken by schoolchildren in schools today are relevant and apropos to our current situation.

And what is our current situation?

Photo by Obi Onyeador on Unsplash

We are starting to see a change in rhetoric. Whereas before people would make small changes or pay lip service to make the protests, riots, and other people’s problems go away, now we are seeing a true response and reaction to the systemic racism that has bubbled beneath the surface of our society since it was founded.

The responses are there. The attention is there. The change is happening.

To quote the song My Shot from the musical Hamilton:

This is not a moment, it’s the movement

We must sustain this momentum and carry it forward and this includes making deep and lasting changes to reflect this change throughout our shared land.

It is with this situation in mind that this proposal is introduced to leverage our current social consciousness to once again take up this banner for change and modify this pledge to better reflect us as a nation and a unified people.

Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash

The changes that are proposed below are small in count, yet large in ideas and rich in meaning.

The first change is to refer to ourselves as a “nation of many peoples”. This is done to reflect our varied and history and global origins, yet together in this pledge we are together as one people and one nation. We do not all look alike. We do not all think alike. Yet we share the same land and breathe the same air under the same flag.

The second change is to remove the religious reference. This is NOT done to remove religion from any person or group. This is done to embrace a universal society of freedom of choice and belief. While this may seem anathema to many, the truth is that not all people share that belief. In order to write a universal creed we must respect the freedom of choice for all people reciting this pledge. This change is meant to show respect to the beliefs of all people by not singling out any specific reference.

The third change is to refer to ourselves as “indivisible and unified” in our resolve and society. We do not agree on everything. The statement is not intended to convey a universal agreement on ideas. However, we all live together in this same land and under this same flag, and in that way, we are indivisible in the support of our nation and unified in our agreement to live together peacefully.

The final change is the most important one: “with liberty, equality, and justice for all.” We do not move forward from this movement without this crucial addition. We must demand equal justice for all people, without reservation or compromise.

Therefore, please join with me in an updated Pledge of Allegiance reflecting us as one people united in our desire for equal access to life, liberty, happiness, and common justice no matter our religious beliefs, political beliefs, or the color of our skin: