The thought to question why we pledge allegiance to a flag never occurred to me until all the uproar began when Colin Rand Kaepernick decided to take a knee during the national anthem. I recall reciting the pledge of allegiance every morning during my adolescent and teenage years as a school student. I never questioned why I was doing it or even what it meant. I just did it because I was told to by my teachers. But, what does it mean?

The word allegiance is defined as, “loyalty or commitment of a subordinate to a superior or of an individual to a group or cause.” (pause for reaction)The current version of the pledge of allegiance reads as follows; “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.” This is by far one of the biggest lies I have ever told. Where do I even begin?

Why am I subordinate to a flag, group or cause? And what cause or group am I supposedly subordinate to? And why is it supposedly superior over me? One nation under whose God? Indivisible? Since when? Justice for all? Please! When has there ever been justice for all in this country? Right now, I am thinking teaching children to recite this is just as bad as encouraging them to believe in an Easter Bunny, the tooth fairy, and good ole Santa Claus. It is all fictional. Don’t get me wrong, despite the discontent I feel for some of the things that have transpired in our nation, I will never deny my country or wish harm to it. But, at this point in my life there are several practices that I question - and the pledge of allegiance is one of them.

It was originally written by Rear Admiral George Balch in 1887, and a lot has changed since then. It is possible that when it was composed the intent was for this nation to be as one, undivided and supply liberty and justice to all - at least from the writer’s perspective. But, somewhere along the way that intent became blurred.

The Native Americans who occupied this land before the pilgrimage of the European settlers weren’t included in the claim of liberty and justice for all; and neither were my forefathers who were brought to this country against their will. And do I need to mention the generations of Blacks that followed? Or the ones who died at the hands of the people who swore to protect and serve - yeah, them.

I am not trying to start a revolution or even a debate. This is just a topic that has me curious and I think it is a fair question to ask. Are the statements within this “pledge” true as this country stands today? Are the statements even pliable, as they are, to be applied to all Americans today? I don’t think we can honestly say yes to either of those questions. Can anything be done to fix it? Is there any concern to fix it?