To Whom Should Americans Pledge Allegiance?

July 17, 2002

by Dave Racer

Which one of these pledges is dangerous for our children to recite?

“I pledge allegiance to the Earth on which I stand, one world, one people, undivided, with food, shelter and justice for all.”

“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.”

These pledges do compete for student time, at least in St. Paul, Minnesota, and I will bet, in your hometown as well.

Beaver Lake Elementary School children say the pledge to the earth. One proud grandma told me that her six-year old had the courage to refuse to do the earth pledge; the only protester among 30 in her classroom. Way to go little girl!

Senator Mee Moua, DFL-SD 67, thinks that asking students at Beaver Lake or any other Minnesota public school to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag is dangerous. She fears forcing them to say the Pledge would offend some students – might even be a form of indoctrination.

Sen. Moua is the first Hmong elected to a legislative body in the United States. The Hmong, who have come to St. Paul in large numbers – hundreds are my neighbors – are hard-working people. Many thousands gave their lives to aid American soldiers during the Viet Nam conflict. I welcome them to my town and I know that they are now either patriotic Americans, or becoming the same.

Yet, when Sen. Moua fears that saying the pledge might make some students uncomfortable, by her attitude, she makes it more difficult for her fellow Hmong to become integrated into American culture and society. And that creates immense problems for the rest of us; at least those who want to remain a free people.

Understanding that America is a Republic, not a democracy, is central to American governance. And understanding that most politicians have abandoned our original forms of governance, substituting government by polls, focus groups and pop culture, helps new Americans get it right.

More important, though, is knowing that it is our reliance on God that sets America apart from all other nations. Rev. George Docherty put it this way in his 1954 Flag Day Speech: “It should be ‘one nation, indivisible, under God.’ Once ‘under God,’ then we can define what we mean by ‘liberty and justice for all.’ To omit the words ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance is to omit the definitive character of the American way of life.”

If public schools are forbidden to include God as they teach American history, and if Docherty is right (which any honest historian will admit), then it is understandable why Sen. Moua might find the words “under God” objectionable. But in so doing, she would also be denying her Hmong community the truth about America, and that is tragic.

Forgetting what makes America different is a key Marxist strategy. Marx called religion the opiate of the people. Making Americans go sober – that is, forgetting God – is a necessary step toward totalitarian government. We will either have God or Caesar, and Marx preferred Caesar.

While liberals like Moua see a pledge to Momma Earth as non-threatening and even edifying, they fear Americans being too American. They fear our heritage, in fact, calling it “Euro-Centric.” To them “Earth-Centric” is a neutral idea, but believing too much like our Founding Fathers is an unacceptable bias.

The freedom for which Americans and Hmong fought side by side, for which they shed blood and left millions maimed and homeless – the very purpose of the battle being to throw off the despotism of Marxism – depends entirely on the idea that America is one nation under God. That is not Euro-Centric, it is the truth!

Being allegiant to Momma Earth feels good, but it is deadly.

Being allegiant to “one nation under God” brings with it life, liberty and justice for all. And to it I pledge my life, my fortune and my sacred honor.

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Dave Racer is an author, publisher, commentator, speaker and teacher. He served as National Campaign Manager for Alan Keyes' 1996 Presidential Campaign, and for six years hosted The Dave Racer Show on Twin Cities Radio. Visit his website: http://www.daveracer.com

Send the author an E mail at Racer@ConservativeTruth.org.

For more of Dave's articles, visit his archives.