There are some religious groups, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, who object to
the pledge of allegiance because they acknowledge the sovereignty of no one
other than God.
Sam Treynor
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of J D Deal
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 1:23 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Virginia and the Pledge of Allegiance
Kevin H wrote:
> the vast majority of Virginians now recite the Pledge of
> Allegiance with untroubled consciences. Those who think
> about its words--a minority, to be sure--do not as a consequence
> of thinking about it refuse to say the Pledge, for principled
> reasons. Quite the contrary, most Virginians now are in
> fundamental accord with the understanding of the constitution
> articulated in the Pledge, and have no principled objection to
> reciting it.
Kevin:
Re your second question and the answer you have given above: we need to
remember that reciting the pledge is, as you say, a ritual, not a legally
binding act. Not, I would go even further to suggest, an act with any real
political significance whatsoever. First, consider who recites the pledge:
mainly children (non-voters almost exclusively), plus their teachers
(maybe). "Untroubled consciences" indeed! You suppose a small number "think
about it," and a minority of that group "might refuse to say the pledge for
principled reasons. I am not sure we would need all the fingers on my two
hands to count the number of Virginians who might fall into this last
category.
As a ritual, the pledge is indubitably something to recite, not something to
parse for meaning. We are not the constitutional descendants of the fellow
who wrote the pledge in the 1892. As you may know (if you have kids), what
is actually recited often bears only slight resemblance to the "correct"
words. But that's okay--no one is paying attention anyway. I recall one of
my daughters reciting it for me at home after a regular day of Kindergarten
at St. Mary's School in Oswego, New York. It was then that I discovered, to
my surprise, that the pledge did not end with "liberty and justice for all,"
but continued, full speed ahead, "HailMaryfullofgracethelordiswithyou...."
I would bet the same thing happens somewhere every day in the "Old Dominion"
too.
Doug Deal
History/SUNY Oswego
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