To whom or to what we give our allegiance is a religious matter that does not belong on a government agenda or a public school agenda.
The early Christians suffered long persecution for refusing to give allegiance to Rome. Likewise, the early Quakers paid a heavy price for refusing to give allegiance to the crown of England.
The founding fathers of this nation were aware of many of the reasons for refusing allegiance and so as long as they were alive there would be no pledge to the flag.
But in 1892, with all the founders gone and the rationale opposing the pledge lost in time, the pledge to the flag emerged.
The reasoned alternative to the pledge at government meetings would be to have the clerk of the meeting, with everyone sitting, read the three founding principles of government of the Declaration of Independence beginning with “We hold these truths…” and ending with “… safety and happiness.”
As for the public school agenda, the pledge is to be replaced by a statement, read to the student body at the beginning of each school day, as to how each student can express his or her meaning of life with respect to any topic under study and in comparison to the meaning of life expressed by any student, with the understanding that the meaning of life is the most important subject of the educational process – a self-evident truth.
Ray Kalainikas
Manalapan