"Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one and indivisible."
To me, saying this pledge is a complete lie. Allegiance means "loyalty or commitment of a subordinate to a superior or of an individual to a group or cause." I am not loyal or committed to Texas. I don't see why Texas needs to single itself out from the entire United States in some special claim of allegiance from its residents. To take it one step further, I am not completely sure about the United States Pledge.
"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."
I personally do not feel complete allegiance to America. The only thing in my life that I feel allegiance to is God. That doesn't mean I don't respect the government, its laws, and authority.
But respect is so different from allegiance. Respect means "avoid harming or interfering with" or "agree to recognize and abide by (a legal requirement)."
Maybe this is all a bunch of linguistic hoops, but it is worth considering.
6 comments:
It's interesting that I went to Texas schools for my entire school-life and have never once even heard of a pledge to the Texas flag until today - although it doesn't surprise me that there is one! I wonder if they just started doing it since I've been out of school or if the schools I went to just didn't participate. Huh.
I remember having to learn how to correctly say (and write) the Texas Pledge when I was in the 7th grade. Even then, I was wondering about the need for a pledge to your state.
Like Rachel, I never once heard or said the pledge in school. However, I think this was started pretty recently, if I'm correct. Or... I'm just showing my age!
AMEN! Well said!
Texas is such a strange country.
I had to say both the US pledge and the Texas pledge all through school. It drove me nuts that we had to take time out of our class to say it when I was teaching too.
I did not grow up in Texas so I know nothing of the pledge. The United States Pledge never bothered me but I grew up in a very patriotic household. My dad was in the Air Force and is very old school.
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