In the spirit of the recent 4th of July holiday, firecracker debris now finally cleared from the streets, I would like to turn the rhetorical lens on a common fixture of American patriotism: the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Pledge of Allegiance is recited by millions of children everyday before they dive into math, science, and reading. We are asked to stand and recite it at formal occasions, like graduations, and sometimes sporting events. Organizations, like the Boy Scouts of America, have even incorporated the civic oath into their ceremonial fare.
In recent years, however, it has become a site of contention. More specifically it has become a battleground in the never-ending “culture wars.” Recently the North Carolina Secular Association, as part of a larger campaign “to end official discrimination by reverting to the original Pledge of Allegiance” along with other initiatives, put up a number of billboards in North Carolina around the Independence Day holiday with a particular phrase from the Pledge of Allegiance, except that they had modified it.
