READ TODAY'S STORIES AND E-EDITION SUBSCRIBE |  CONTACT US |  SIGN IN

Print story only Print story with comments Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest
Take the Pledge.
Published: 11/13/2012 2:57 PM
Last Modified: 11/13/2012 2:57 PM




It is probably to my shame to admit this, but I haven’t recited the Pledge of Allegiance in years.

I remember the Pledge being a part of the daily routine in elementary school – everyone standing beside his or her desk, hand over heart, speaking those 31 words in unison.

On Sunday, I happened to attend a meeting of the Tulsa branch of the English Speaking Union, which opened with the members reciting the Pedge of Allegiance.

And what struck me about that brief little ceremony was how the way the Pledge is recited really hasn’t changed over the years.

The Pledge itself has changed – four times, since a Baptist minister named Francis Bellamy (whose brother Edward wrote the novel “Looking Backward,” about the utopia he envisioned the world might be in the year 2000) first came up with it in 1892.

Originally it was “I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” “My flag” became “the flag” and phrases such as “The United States of America” and “under God” were added later.

The way we say the Pledge – the way I remember saying it as a child and the way it was spoken by the members of the English Speaking Union – is no doubt a product of pedagoguery, with the phrases of the pledge divided up in such a way to make it easier for people to recite the pledge in unison.

But sometimes I wonder what we lose in the pursuit of uniformity. As we tend to pronounce the Pledge, it sounds like this:

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.

In other words, it becomes a kind of free verse – an e.e. cumming’s poem but with better punctuation and capital letters in all the right places.

And I have no doubt that those who recite the Pledge of Allegiance in this manner – the way they did it as children themselves – do so with complete sincerity and patriotism.

And yet…and yet. Just once I’d like to hear someone recite the Pledge of Allegiance not so much by heart as from the heart, with a cadence that is individual, that stresses different syllables, that makes the sentiments contained within these 31 words sound as meaningful as they actually are.



Reader Comments 3 Total
Culture Czar (3 months ago)
Agreed, Mr. Watts. Through no fault of anyone, the words have become wrote instead of reflective of the pride that we should feel living in this country - and the freedoms that we enjoy!
Thunder196 (3 months ago)
Words memorized as a child. Every morning school opened with everyone saying The Pledge of Allegiance. Eventually it turned into a ritual instead of actually being a heartfelt allegiance.

One person that I can think of that always teared up when she recited The Pledge of Allegiance was my mother-in-law. The day she became an US citizen she was so proud to recite those words. She loved this country.

Just attended a meeting a couple of weeks ago where The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. That's how it felt, words being recited.
ClanJoyWalkSig (3 months ago)
I like the e.e.cummings' comparison, James.

Why does it take a tragedy or near tragedy to make us realize what we have as citizens of this country or how blessed we are to live here?

The current secession rumblings are disconcerting when one stops to consider all our ancestors went through to bring us to this point in time....
3 comments displayed


To post comments on tulsaworld.com, you must be an active Tulsa World print or digital subscriber and signed into your account.

ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

Subscribe to this blog


Archive

 
James D. Watts Jr's Blog Archive:

2/2013  1/2013  12/2012  11/2012  10/2012  9/2012  
8/2012  7/2012  6/2012  5/2012  4/2012  3/2012  
2/2012  1/2012  12/2011  11/2011  10/2011  9/2011  
8/2011  7/2011  6/2011  5/2011  4/2011  3/2011  
2/2011  1/2011  12/2010  11/2010  10/2010  9/2010  
8/2010  7/2010  6/2010  5/2010  4/2010  3/2010  
2/2010  1/2010  12/2009  11/2009  10/2009  9/2009  
8/2009  7/2009  6/2009  5/2009  4/2009  3/2009  
2/2009  1/2009  12/2008  11/2008  10/2008  9/2008  
8/2008  7/2008  6/2008  5/2008  4/2008  








Home | Contact Us | Search | Subscribe | Customer Service | About | Advertise | Privacy
Copyright © 2013, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.