The Pledge of Allegiance was written over 100 years ago by a pastor from New York. It means we are loyal to the flag and to the United States of America. It is a promise to defend the rights and freedom of all Americans. You may be able to recite the words, but could you explain the true meaning to your children? You should. Here are the words.
“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.”
Let me explain the words so that you can better explain them to your children.
• Pledge = give
• Allegiance = loyalty
• Republic = country in which the citizens have the right to vote
• For which it stands = which is one of our foundations
• One nation = we are together
• Under God = we are under the protection of God
• Indivisible = cannot be divided
• With liberty = freedom
• And justice for all = fair treatment for everyone
When we say the Pledge of Allegiance, it means that we give our loyalty to America. America is a Republic, in which citizens have the right to vote, which is one of our foundations. We are one nation together under the protection of God. We cannot be divided. We have freedom and give justice and fair treatment to all.
Now take a look around at our culture today. How much better we would be as a nation if we truly embraced the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance. Our nation did so in decades past and they stood more firm in their patriotism. That is a term we do not hear about enough these days.
Let’s take a look at what Patriotism really means. Patriotism is defined as:
devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty (dictionary.com).
When you look around the country, you see the older generations wearing caps with their branch of service, where they served and in what war. We see them as patriotic. We see their devoted love for their country as well as a national loyalty. Younger persons can be very patriotic too, but they may not have the battle scars behind them. As adults, we need to reinforce the patriotism in the lives of our children. As we move farther and farther away from the older generation who openly displayed their patriotism, the younger generations are at more of a disadvantage from seeing patriotism in action. Ask their grandparents to explain patriotism to them. Please make this a family discussion this Memorial Day or 4th of July. We must stir up a love for America in our younger generation. Encourage your parents and grandparents to talk with your children about patriotism. If you child has a special project to do at school, one idea is for him or her to go to the American Legion or VFW Post and interview a veteran.
We also need to pray for our country; we are called by God to do that. This could be an excellent thing to pray in family prayer time.
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV).
Looking forward to sharing more with you next week,
Dr. Christine Van Horn
www.drchris.co
chris@drchris.co