The Pledge of Allegiance.

From CNN:

[Herman Cain] recalled his shock while watching the U.S. Open last year and hearing a group of children omit the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance.

As a kid, when I learned the Pledge of Allegiance, I sort of assumed it was something the Founding Fathers had written. It was only later that I found out it was written in 1892, and only later after that that I found out the “under God” bit was officially added in  the 1950s.

Not that it matters. I have no problem with making revisions. And it’s not wrong to oppose changing it back, although people who do so sometimes treat it as if changing the Pledge back is not merely inadvisable, but practically blasphemous.

Personally, I do think the “under God” part is detrimental to the Pledge as a piece of writing. “One nation, indivisible” is so much better to my ear than the present version. But still, as I’ve said before, even the national anthem has some syntax issues. Clearly, there are bigger meanings to both pieces than just their actual words, and I don’t want to “miss the forest for the trees”.

And then, of course, there’s the issue of why you pledge to the actual flag, as well as the republic. I don’t quite understand that.

P.S. I seem to remember writing another post about the Pledge at some point, but searching the blog revealed nothing, and I don’t feel like combing the archives, as I have no idea when it was. So, I’m sorry if I’m repeating myself.

What's your stake in this, cowboy?