It’s time to add some pledges to the Pledge of Allegiance
Maybe the pledge could be expanded & made more specific
I’m fine with the Pledge of Allegiance and certainly consider myself patriotic. It’s inspirational and aspirational but what exactly is it calling us to do? The addition of reference to “God” was included in the 1950’s in the height of the cold war against what was considered the “un-godly” Soviet Union. The pros/cons of this discussion would constitute a separate blog and I do not want to bog down this blog concerning that topic.
What I’m proposing is that some additional pledges be added so that our Pledge of Allegiance can become more specific and more dynamic. My goal is to craft a statement that all Americans can recite providing a springboard to action.
So here are my additional pledges:
I pledge… sufficient funds for every un-wanted, un-loved, un-planned baby who is at risk of being aborted to receive enough food, clothing, shelter and education till he or she reaches age 21. This is what I define as the pro-life pledge. Failure to pledge tangible resources till the kid reaches adulthood is akin to bringing a non-swimmer half way across a river and then tossing him from the raft. Back up your words and beliefs with your time and money. Be as concerned and financially committed to the currently damaged and discarded humanity as you are with the unborn. Both are precious and equally in need of protection and nurturing.
I pledge…..every murder must be followed by a full day of remembrance by the entire community whether it’s the neighborhood within which the murder occurred or the entire city if the community is small enough. This day of remembrance must be more that the lighting of candles and the offering of thoughts and prayers. The day of remembrance must be a day of action supporting the family of the deceased. The pledge must end the cycle of violence and prevent inter-generational trauma. Only when the entire community turns out for an entire day (and hopefully beyond), will the expression “Enough Is Enough” be meaningful. Only with this pledge of a “community call to action” will there be a transition from a “crime story” to a “crime against the community”. There needs to be a sense that a crime against one of us is a crime against all of us. Sporting events in stadiums and massive entertainment venues are fine and fun. However, let’s pledge to devote the same level of enthusiasm, fandom and fanaticism in response to acts of hatred, violence and mayhem.
I pledge…..outrage for every act of violence no matter what the circumstances or who was the victim and perpetrator. I pledge to not cherry-pick crimes of violence and not tolerate “selective outrage”. For every incident of violence caused by an illegal immigrant, pledge to report incidents committed by USA citizens. For every incident of police brutality, be equally upset by crimes perpetrated by repeat offenders. Give equal time and attention to rioters whether they be looters, insurrectionists, violent protesters or radicals of the far left or far right or anywhere in between. For every person killed by a drunk driver, impaired driver, distracted driver or road rage warrior, let there be a driver who has permanently lost the privilege of driving. For every violent street crime and welfare cheater, let there be equal outrage calling out every white-collar criminal who steals millions.
I pledge….no child be allowed to graduate from high school without being able to read, write and do arithmetic. I pledge to do whatever tutoring and mentoring is required to achieve this basic competency of reading, writing and arithmetic. I pledge that zip code addresses should not dictate the quality of education received.
I pledge…..to protect every child from bullying whether it’s physically or digitally. This pledge includes protection of every person from becoming a victim of crime, particularly violent crime. I pledge to not look the other way, to not remain silent and to do whatever it takes to protect others from being victimized. I pledge to be my brother’s keeper making the phrase “it takes a village” more than just a phrase.
I pledge…..to never remain silent in the face of hateful, racist behavior in speech and action. I pledge to never patronize any hateful, racist, homophobic business. This includes any outright lies.
I pledge……to never allow a person to lose their home or business just because they got sick. Likewise, nobody should be in debt for life just because they attended college.
As you might have guessed by now, all of the above listed pledges are intended to back up words, announcements, and vague platitudes with specific calls to action. These are pledges that if repeated every day by everybody, we might inch closer to tackling seemingly intractable problems. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.
What other pledges would you suggest for making us a “more perfect union” and a better society?
Dunn Writes Well 