A Pledge to Say the Pledge

[kimberlysteele]

 

The US is immersed in some interesting times at the moment... like other countries aren't? I hear they imprisoned a thirteen year old in Britain for being in a riot. It's like January 6 except for middle schoolers.

As I mentioned in my most recent essay, despite my own non-pacifist worldview, going full Unabomber makes no sense at this point. If we all decide to act like Hezbollah after a cocaine bender and strap bombs on our chest, it will only prove to the other side we were not worth the powder to blow us to heaven hell.

There is very little we can do, however, I believe little things matter. I believe cleaning my own toilet keeps me humble -- that is why I do it every night no matter how exhausted I am. Cleaning my toilet is my way of saying "thank you" to a piece of porcelain that makes my life infinitely better and more comfortable. I thank my car, my cats, my husband, and my mom. I thank my computers, my iPhone, my weedwhacker, and my stove. I thank trees and lakes. It is the thankful life. I believe gratitude is powerful magic.

Long ago, when it was 1981 and Ronald Reagan was just starting out as President, we elementary school kids had to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag every school day morning. The Pledge is a short prayer originally composed by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Union Army officer in the Civil War. Balch's poem was adapted by Francis Bellamy a year later for the 1892 World Columbian Exposition. Not long after, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by schoolchildren all across America.

In order to say the Pledge of Allegiance, you stand near the American flag (or an image of the American flag) with your right hand over your heart and say:

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

And now the ask: I would like you to join me (in spirit) in saying the Pledge of Allegiance every morning starting Wednesday, September 11, 2024 for an entire year, so that means until Thursday, September 11, 2025. There is no "point" or agenda to saying the Pledge except to strengthen the better parts of the US's astral pyramid. You can say the Pledge if you're Republican, Democrat, or neither. You can say it if you're not American -- this isn't a pledge of your eternal soul after all; it's a statement of support for the unity of a nation under God with liberty and justice for all.

May my nation and yours heal from within.

Comments

[randomactsofkarmasc]

Excellent idea! Though I'm not going to wait until 9/11 to start. ;-)

[kimberlysteele]

Practice makes perfect is what I always say!

[(Anonymous)]

I am in.

Will O

[kimberlysteele]

Yay!

[(Anonymous)]

One interesting thing is that the wording 'Under God' was added during the McCarthy era which conservatives of the time wanted as a way of asserting the superiority of democracy against communism which they regarded as godless. Of course, it should be left up to the individual whether to leave that wording out or not. I don't think it will affect the overall power of this pledge which is really a kind of prayer.

JLfromNH/Alabaster Rotating Groundhog

[kimberlysteele]

It's funny because of how godless McCarthian witch hunting is by nature. Yes, communism is godless, but discarding morals and fair judgement for feel-good finger pointing is equally Luciferian.

[(Anonymous)]

The original pledge was as follows:

"I pledge allegiance to my flag, and to the Republic for which is stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

And it was originally said with the right hand held out straight, in what we now think of as a Nazi salute. (That got nixed around the time of WWII for obvious reasons.)

The "my flag" part was changed to "the flag of the United States of America" in 1923, in response to the fear that waves of new immigrants might be pledging in their minds to the flags of their home countries.

The "under God" part was added in 1954, in response to pressure from the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal order.

Personally, I have never liked the "under God" part because of the Catholic connection. I have nothing against Catholics (you do you), but I always felt like the origin of the change made the reference feel like it really was about the Catholic (or at least Christian) god, and I feel somewhat uncomfortable with the current wording for that reason.

[(Anonymous)]

My 75-year-‘-old brother remembers “under God” being added. And I pledge to pledge the pledge.

—Princess Cutekitten

[kimberlysteele]

That's amazing that he remembers! I like it better with the "under God" part. It's a nice built-in call for divine guidance.

[kimberlysteele]

Also, thanks for pledging allegiance to pledge allegiance.

[(Anonymous)]

This is a lovely idea! Count me in.

I've been thinking about how to best pray for the US and I think saying the pledge has that sorted.

Now to think on what to pray for Canada...

Heloise

[kimberlysteele]

I'm glad you'll be joining! I said the pledge while erasing a political spam text today... it felt good pushing the DELETE button while saying the last "for all" of the Pledge.

Hoo boy, Canada. They have been in far worse shape than us, and that is saying something.

[(Anonymous)]

The "under God" is monotheistic and wouldn't be amenable to the polytheists around here.

[kimberlysteele]

LOL, I am a Druid polytheist and one of the main revivalists of the Orphic Hymns! Notice the Pledge conveniently does not specify which God...

the Pledge

[ritaer]

Not that hard to add an "s" to god. However, a friend of mine feels that the addition of "under God" damaged the rhythm of the original.

I was recently accepted to serve on the Grand Jury of the county I live in, and the jury decided to open each meeting with the Pledge.

For those outside the US, county grand juries are largely used to investigate the local government--follow up on citizen complaints, see if funds are being spent as required, check prison and jail facilities for cleanliness, security, etc. In some states they are used to issue criminal indictments and on the Federal level all criminal indictments come through the Federal Grand Jury in each Federal Court district.

Rita

Re: the Pledge

[kimberlysteele]

I'm delighted to hear you are serving on a Grand Jury! I had no idea what that was until you explained it. My area sorely needs a Grand Jury if it does not already have one.

[(Anonymous)]

Nothing is preventing polytheists from using the plural "Gods" if they feel uncomfortable with the singular "God".

[kimberlysteele]

Great minds clearly think alike!

[(Anonymous)]

Kimberly Steele posted in today's Magic Monday that she uses "under Gods" in her polytheistic adaptation of the Pledge of Allegiance:

https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/294697.html?thread=50785577#cmt50785577

Simple is Best!

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for this simple and direct practice!

I’m in. And thank you for your good work in making this world a better place.

Valerie

Re: Simple is Best!

[kimberlysteele]

Thank you, Valerie. The Pledge is much more fun knowing that you are joining me.

[ecosophian]

This Pledge is also an affirmation. I first said it when I became a naturalized citizen of the United States. I have no doubt it would change an individual saying it, but I wonder how many it would take to make a noticeable difference on a large scale.

[kimberlysteele]

As I like to say to my music students... you gotta start somewhere!

[ecosophian]

Alright then. Count me in!

[kimberlysteele]

Great!

[(Anonymous)]

I saw your post over on Ecosophia, came over here and recited the pledge. I'm Canadian, but I'm rooting for my southern neighbours to get through this time of travails safely with liberty and justice firmly in place. I just got goosebumps reciting it. There's something to this!

Tim PW

[kimberlysteele]

Thank you! Whenever I see some icky political news or get spammed with a political ad, I recite it. So several times a day! I swear, I can feel others reciting it.

[jruss]

I'm in!

The Gods Bless America!

[(Anonymous)]

This strikes me as an excellent idea. I can't guarantee I'll make it for all 365 days, but I can pitch in.

Are there any visualizations that might be useful to go along with it?

-Cliff

[kimberlysteele]

Thanks! I recommend either visualizing the American flag or the goddess Columbia.

[betwixtworlds]

I'll happily join in with you. I've had Columbia on my altar for about 3 years now-- it's a printout of a picture I found online. I like to recite the lyrics to "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean" while I look at the picture. I believe that song almost became our national anthem, but I'm not sure.

My concerns about the Pledge to a Flag

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, Kimberly, and all. I just submitted this as a comment on ecosophia.net. But given how late I am in posting, it probably won't be seen by many over there. So I thought I would cross-post it over here. I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do. But I do suggest we all be mindful of what we are doing. So, with that introduction, here are my concerns:

---
The US "Pledge of Allegiance" is not so much a prayer, as a vow. To the extent you take a vow soulfully, it binds you. And words can be treacherous. I suggest anyone considering taking this vow to first meditate, very deeply, upon what they are vowing. Have you ever gotten married to someone who didn't take the words quite so literally as you? How did that turn out?

I wouldn't touch The Pledge of Allegiance unless I really understood, thoroughly, the price of the vow, the literal meaning of its constituent words, and what it is binding me to.

To begin with, liberty is the absence of domination by outside agency. Liberty in terms of this vow seems to mean freedom from government. Which government is that? It changes with every day, and generally in a bad way in terms of personal freedom and adherence to the Constitution. So, already, the pledge is sounding like something which only binds good people to bad people.

Justice has consequences, good or bad, in accordance with karma. The US has killed a lot of civilians around the world, largely for profit, since WW2. How many innocents has it harmed representing you? Are you prepared to take that on your soul as well?

The Republic? Do you mean the Constitution? Or the government?

And why "Indivisible"? Didn't the states -- themselves fictitious entities -- join voluntarily? So why can't they leave voluntarily? Why can't I leave the country easily and voluntarily? Wasn't the Revolutionary War fought under the spiritual principle that a free people have a right to leave a non-representative tyranny? Democracy means people, and aggregations of people geographically defined as states, should be able to leave voluntarily. No? So . . . Indivisible nullifies Liberty, and probably kneecaps Justice. And "justice for all"? Really? When has a government ever had that? So, One nation -- do you mean the original 13 colonies, or all the rest of the land which has been taken by force? Under God? Which God?

Personally, I simply pray for justice for all -- everybody paying up their karma, in full, with interest, lickety-split. And, yes, I'm trying to keep mindful of the "strawberry jam principle". FWIW, I would prefer to see the US peacefully separated into many small, independent states. I think that would be best for humanity.

Maybe on that small scale, liberty, justice, and the Constitution will be possible again.

Re: My concerns about the Pledge to a Flag

[kimberlysteele]

This is why including the "under God" or in my polytheistic adaptation, "under gods" is so crucial. When you invoke the Divine, beings better and smarter than you work out the finer details and you don't have to feel like you've entered a sketchy marriage.

As you may know, I read Ogham every week for free on Saturdays. What I believe puts me above the throngs of pay-per-reading types on TikTok and various Tarot hotlines (only $5.99 per minute!) is the fact I deliberately try to get divine help for my divinations.

Praying for "justice for all" and fast karma without explicitly invoking gods is an extremely bad idea, IMO. You could easily turn your life into ground hamburger that way.

Here is my polytheistic Pledge adaptation, for the curious:

I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which it stands
Great nation, under gods, indestructible
With liberty and justice for all

Re: My concerns about the Pledge to a Flag

[ecosophian]

I like this polytheistic version. "Under gods" is not political, it's just a statement of fact.

Re: My concerns about the Pledge to a Flag

[kimberlysteele]

Thank you!

Re: My concerns about the Pledge to a Flag

[(Anonymous)]

I do like that better. Thanks for the reply.

-gnat