Chance Question Intriguing

At the beginning of many military and civilian meetings, Americans say the Pledge of Allegiance. Most people can recite the words from memory, without hesitation.

While on an overseas vacation recently, my wife and I were assigned a luncheon table with a same-age couple from Great Britain. We chatted, and somehow, our Pledge of Allegiance came up. The lady said, “I’ve never understood all this rigmarole about putting your hand on your chest and reciting something about the flag. What’s that all about?”

Wow! All this, out of the blue. How do you explain the significance of this ritual?

Later, I looked up the history of our pledge. My encyclopedia says it began in the schools as an obligatory school opening ritual until 1943, when a ruling by the Supreme Court deleted the requirement. It was originally printed in 1892 in Youth Companion magazine. The question of authorship was in dispute for years, finally resolved in 1939 when official authorship was attributed to Francis Bellamy, a member of the magazine’s staff. It has been modified twice. The original version, “I pledge allegiance to my flag” was changed by Congress in 1923. The words “the flag of the United States of America” were substituted. In 1954, Congress added the words “under God.”

Back to how I responded to the lady’s questions. I told her our flag is symbolic of our country and its foundation and principles. These principles give us our liberty, our form of government, our right to criticize as well as show respect for our government. It is our guarantee of being judged by our peers if we stand accused of any crime. It is also a symbol of our Bill of Rights, which insures these rights along with the right to worship who, when and where we choose.

We place our right hand over our heart, since the heart is a part of us we cannot be without. Thus, we are pledging our very being to preserve that to which we are speaking. Our pledge is always given while “uncovered,” meaning both sexes remove their head covering. Again, it is a sign of respect.

To help her comprehend further, I mentioned that in Britain many meetings started with singing “God save the Queen.” Both are rituals showing the pride we have for our countries and our forms of government. She seemed to understand.

How would you have answered?