I…  me, an individual, a committee of one.

Pledge…  dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity.

Allegiance…  my love and my devotion.

To the flag…  our standard, Old Glory, a symbol of freedom. Wherever she waves there is respect because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybody’s job.

Of the United States of America…  we have all come together, 48 individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose, all divided with imaginary boundaries yet united to a common purpose: and that’s love for country.

And to the republic for which it stands…  a state in which sovereign power is
invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern, and government is the people; and it’s from the people to the leaders not from the leaders to the people.

One nation…  so blessed by God.

Indivisible…  incapable of being divided.

With liberty…  freedom, the right to live one’s own life without threats, fear or some sort of retaliation.

And justice…  the principles or qualities of dealing fairly with others.

For all…  it’s as much your country as it is mine.

Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance: “Under God”.  Wouldn’t it be a pity if someone said that was a prayer and that would be eliminated from our schools, too?

Red Skelton
January 14, 1969

Slight the Vote
The first Tuesday following the first Monday was never meant to be an entry on a T’do list. Too many died for the inconvenience.

On the Fourth of July
Providential Rights demand nothing of anyone. Liberty lives and breathes only in the absence of tyranny.