Allegiance

President's Day, we were thinking, is kind of a dumb holiday, because most presidents are idiots (Reagan, Bush), liars (Johnson, Nixon), or good men who aren't great presidents (Wilson, Carter).

While on the subject of weird Americana, we were also thinking, the Pledge of Allegiance kind of boring.  People recite it, and no one really thinks about it, and pledging allegiance to an inanimate object doesn't seem like a particularly good idea in the first place.  So we thought we'd try to help it out.  Here are some ideas, written in the style of a few recognizable poets:

Emily Dickinson

I pledge allegiance -- to the flag --
Of the United States -- of America --
And to the Republic --
For which it Stands!

e. e. cummings

i pledge allegiance to the flag
oftheunitedstatesof
(i
n
div
is
i
ble)

america

one

nation

John Keats: Ode on an American Flag

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.

T. S. Eliot:  Lament for the Nightingales

Mild und leise
wie er lächelt¹
"What is that?  Who are you?"²
"Nothing"³
When the battle's lost and won.⁴

¹cf. Ancient American lyric: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America"
²"and to the republic for which it stands"
³"one nation under God indivisible"
⁴"with liberty and justice for all"

An American 4th grader

I pledge alliance to the fag
of the United States of American
and to the Republican
fir witch it stands
one nation
underwear
Invisible
with Libby and Justice for all

I think you'll agree that many of these are more interesting that the current version.

-- Michael and Heather

Comments

[randomliberal]

Umm...despite his good intentions at Versailles, Wilson was not a good man. He was a racist in the worst way who played a very large role in legitimizing Birth of a Nation. He also reinstituted segregation in Federal government offices. Let's be careful here...not all Democrats were good people.

[here's what's left]

hmmmmm... doing some research, you appear to be right, though it's hard to get definitive information. one person ascribes the following quote to him, about Birth of a Nation:

"It is like writing history with lightning," Wilson said of this KKK celebration, "and my only regret is that it is all so terribly true."

While another says its apocryphal, though it's hard to tell what's apologetics and what's not.

This story about Wilson's family, along with a different quotation, is pretty unambiguous:

"They treated wounded Confederate soldiers at their church and let their son go out and see Jefferson Davis paraded in handcuffs by the victorious Union army. Wilson would forever recall standing 'for a moment at General Lee's side and looking up into his face.'"

So I struck his name through in the post.

Has anyone ever read anything that Wilson wrote by the way? Does he ever address racial issues in his historical writings?

[gary]

not only are they more interesting, they are a hell of a lot more accurate than the current version.

[Musing Michael]

Let me offer another nice alternative:

"...Scatter our enemies,
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks..."

[dmeyers]

President's Day and the Pledge... 2 great causes for the Left to get rid of... I am all for it... Go for it..