"One Nation, Under God"

Imagine you are a Christian or a Jew.  Maybe you are.  You are saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and then you come to the words, “one nation, under Buddha” or “one nation, under Allah.” 

Imagine how I feel when I say the Pledge of Allegiance.  I’ve been an atheist since I was a teenager.  I know that some being named God or Jehovah or whatever didn’t create the world in seven days, not even in seven metaphorical days.  I know people don’t rise up from the dead.  I know that when you die, your atoms may live on, but they will live on as atoms, not as some spiritual being in a mythical place called heaven or hell.  I know that the same way that Muslims, Christians, and Jews know there is a higher being, although I have science, reason, and logic on my side rather than blind faith.

So, how am I supposed to say the Pledge?  A Pledge never once uttered by Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, or Lincoln.  A Pledge promoted in part to sell flags.  A Pledge that has become meaningless through rote repetition.  

I am a patriotic American.  I know the names of my members of Congress, my state legislators, and my local officials.  I have read and studied the Constitution.  I have never cheated on my taxes.  I read newspapers, I engage in civil discourse, I vote, and I know something about the issues on which I am voting.  

While other people say the Pledge of Allegiance, I do the same thing I do at Sikh services, Muslim services, Jewish services, and Christian services.  I stand respectfully and silently. 

That is my right as an American citizen and an American patriot.  I think it is my duty.