A solemn promise

“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.”

For many of us, the Pledge of Allegiance is the first meaningful thing we ever memorized, and the words are imprinted in our memory through repetition — at school, sporting events, meetings, parades and anywhere else Americans gather in the presence of Old Glory.

Because of that repetition, however, the true meaning behind the pledge we make to our flag and the country it represents can be lost to us over time, and it is understandable that the words themselves can lose their impact as we become too familiar with them.

Flag Day is often the forgotten patriotic holiday — sandwiched as it is between Memorial Day and Independence Day — but we would ask that you take a moment to reflect on last Monday’s observance and consider what the Pledge of Allegiance really means, and what it means to you.

A pledge is defined as “a solemn promise or undertaking,” and the word solemn is synonymous with such terms as “committed,” “unconditional” and “wholehearted.” So when we say the Pledge of Allegiance, whether it is for the first time or five-thousandth time, we are making an unconditional promise with all of our heart to our indivisible nation.

On June 14, 1954, the phrase “under God” was formally added to the Pledge of Allegiance, and the promise became even more solemn.

We are asking our readers to remember the sacred promise we’ve all made to our country, and we respectfully ask that our leaders set an example in honoring that commitment by avoiding other ‘pledges’ that may conflict with the promise they’ve already made to our nation and its people.

We certainly understand the motivation behind the political pledges that have become so popular and are so often circulated in the age of the internet, where we are constantly bombarded with emails and social media posts asking us to pledge our loyalty or our votes or our money on a range of subjects — from all sides of the political spectrum.

But at a time when truly meaningful things are becoming less meaningful all of the time, we should avoid other “pledges” as they lessen the impact of the Pledge of Allegiance by suggesting any single issue or objective has the same importance as the “pledge” we make to our great nation.

The fact that politics serves as the genesis of these modern “pledges” makes them even more concerning, as modern politics have become so divisive that they threaten the “indivisible” promise we’ve all spent a lifetime affirming.

In short, the only pledge any of us should be making is the one we recite to our flag, and we shouldn’t cheapen or diminish the Pledge of Allegiance by suggesting we make other promises that carry just as much weight.

This is especially true for our state’s elected leaders, who make an additional promise when they recite an oath upon taking office.

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, obey and defend the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state of Wyoming; that I have not knowingly violated any law related to my election or appointment, or caused it to be done by others; and that I will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity.”

Oath is also defined as “a solemn promise,” and the oath our elected officials swear to is every bit as important as the pledge we all make to our nation. We don’t think they should risk violation of that oath by committing themselves to politically popular “pledges” that could create potential conflicts with that oath, or with the Pledge of Allegiance we all hold so dear.

Calling on our leaders to make new “pledges” to show their commitment to a cause or ideal makes our Pledge of Allegiance and their Oath of Office less meaningful, and cheapens the ideals we hold most dear by suggesting others are just as important.

That’s why, following the observance of Flag Day, we remind our leaders that the only pledge they should make is to “liberty and justice for all.”

-Newcastle Newsletter Journal