# How Bored Was I Tonight?



## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

So bored. 

I came, I saw, I bored.

I bored, he bored, she bored.

All aboard!




I also sat down at the keyboard and created this:


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Based on a pledge written by a damned commie who wanted everyone to pledge allegiance to the government.

Channel your energy in more positive directions, Grasshopper.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

This is a great conversation starter. 

To what do we pledge allegiance? The government?

No King Save King Jesus! Ring a bell for anyone?

Are we supposed to be free men or are we to swear allegiance to a government?


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## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

Before I start I will admit I don't know who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance or the story behind the whole thing.

With that said, I never thought the pledge was about allegiance to the government but instead an allegiance to the ideals of our forefathers. 

I'm always open to learning new things so if anyone has any info to enlighten me I'm happy to read it.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

The flag is not the Government. The flag is the people


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

For me The U.S. Flag is a Patriotic Symbol of the Ideals/Values/Principles of the greatest political experiment EVER; The Constitution of The United States of America. 

I do not pledge my allegiance to the federal government.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Slippy said:


> I do not pledge my allegiance to the federal government.


Neither do I. I pledge *in spite* of our government. But to address the OP, yeah, I'm pretty bored during this period. From New Years Day until March it's cold and boring in Wisconsin. And as you know, even the Packers aren't playing.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

The Tourist said:


> Neither do I. I pledge *in spite* of our government. But to address the OP, yeah, I'm pretty bored during this period. From New Years Day until March it's cold and boring in Wisconsin. And as you know, even the Packers aren't playing.


If memory serves, the Packers didn't play much in the regular season either! lain:


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Slippy said:


> If memory serves, the Packers didn't play much in the regular season either!


I know, I know. I suspect in-fighting. I think Rodgers is pulling a fast one on the Packer management. As you'll remember, Favre did the same thing. Some of these quarterbacks think they are bigger than the game, but I never thought Rodgers would be one of them.

Now I'm hearing rumors on pre-game that Clay Matthews might be on the trading block. He was fast, and now that he's hit his thirties there is talk of him being "trade bait."

Ya' know, getting back to the OP, I do have a Clancy book I started. I might listen to the best thing on the radio I can find and read a book. This new drug they have me on makes me relaxed and less tense. I had no idea how losing as much sleep as I have would finally take me out. Perhaps being bored is a gift.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

We pledge allegiance to the Flag not obedience to a Government. We pledge to the United state of America and to the Republic for witch it stands, again to country not to a Government. Ensuring liberty and justice is what we should hold our government to.
And not to forget we are under God not equal to or above. That is how we remember our place and don't get big headed.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Smitty901 said:


> we are under God not equal to or above.


Unfortunately, the left isn't big on listening to God or studying history. When I was in fourth grade we used to stand before lunch and our teacher led us in prayer. She'd be fired now.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Denton said:


> Based on a pledge written by a damned commie who wanted everyone to pledge allegiance to the government.
> 
> Channel your energy in more positive directions, Grasshopper.


Weird. I searched that whole image and I'll be damned if I can find one instance of the word 'government' in there. Nothing from the feds down to the local PTA. Perhaps you would be so kind as to point it out to me? :vs_worry:

So an ardent follower of communism wanted to require everyone to pledge allegience to a free society? Interesting. What's next? Muslims must be baptized? Moms Demand Automatic Assault Rifles?


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## stevekozak (Oct 4, 2015)

Back Pack Hack said:


> So bored.
> 
> I came, I saw, I bored.
> 
> ...


It looks cool! Next time you are bored to tears, sit down at your keyboard and download a spell checker....:vs_smirk:


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

I have bad luck with automatic spell-checkers. Sometimes they provide the wrong word, and since it's spelled right I don't get that "red line" warning.


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## ekim (Dec 28, 2012)

BPH, I think you missed Denton meaning or I did. But I agree with Denton. And it seems to be gong the wrong way more each day now.

Sorry to say it Smitty901 but many people nowadays do put themselves equal to or above God. Take off the blinders.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

ekim said:


> BPH, I think you missed Denton meaning or I did. But I agree with Denton. And it seems to be gong the wrong way more each day now.
> 
> Sorry to say it Smitty901 but many people nowadays do put themselves equal to or above God. Take off the blinders.


I think he was pretty clear on what he said. A communist wanted everyone to swear allegiance to the US government.

But that's a totally different subject from 'gong the wrong way more each day'.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/abouttx/flagpledge.html


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## ekim (Dec 28, 2012)

Back Pack Hack said:


> I think he was pretty clear on what he said. A communist wanted everyone to swear allegiance to the US government.
> 
> But that's a totally different subject from 'gong the wrong way more each day'.


I guess we disagree.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

ekim said:


> I guess we disagree.


Well, we can't disagree when I don't know what _you_ think he said.


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## ekim (Dec 28, 2012)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Well, we can't disagree when I don't know what _you_ think he said.


Then we must agree, your in the dark on this. Have a good one.


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## stevekozak (Oct 4, 2015)

ekim said:


> Then we must agree, your in the dark on this. Have a good one.


For the sake of goodness, tell him what you think it is that you think Denton meant! If you know.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Smitty901 said:


> The flag is not the Government. The flag is the people


Absolutely, Smitty. Absolutely.

I love our country. I despise government as a necessary evil that is required, in as small an amount as possible, to keep us from anarchy.
I love the Colorado Rockies, the Florida Everglades, the Kansas wheat fields.
I love small town America, and the can-do spirit of shop mechanics, school bus drivers, farmers, store clerks, the PEOPLE who built this nation.

I fell in love with our Flag for the first time when I was a scared young soldier traveling unarmed in an open utility truck through enemy countryside to the base camp of the 1st Infantry Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized). When we drove onto that small portion of American soil that was so far from home, and I saw Her proudly flying above the command bunker, my lifelong love affair with Her began.
I did not fight for Richard Nixon, Congress, or any of that. Not even for the Constitution. I fought for my brothers in arms, and a piece of cloth. And what that cloth represented, America.

That is what my country means to me. 
Every meeting of the VFW, AmVets, American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America begins with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
The motto of the Legion is "For God and Country." The motto of VVA is "In Service to America." 
Because it is not about the government.

If you feel otherwise, that is your right.
As for me, I fought under that flag and I consider it an honor to be buried under that flag.


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

I am with @Slippy and @Smitty901 on this. I always thought the pledge was to the flag and and what it stood for,it's ideals, it's people. I pledge no loyalty to a government, particularly the one we have currently, but rather, to the flag and what it represents, the principles of the founding fathers and the constitution. Even as a kid I never saw the pledge as declaring allegiance to the government.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

OK, it's time to drag this out:

*Does Our Flag Make A Difference?*

It was a good lesson.

Of course, it was all the more special to me because it was a lesson taught to me by my father. For you see, those lessons are the best kind.

And it was hot! You could feel the heat ricocheting off the concrete as the police cars drove by with sirens screaming. You could tell the people inside the antique cars were suffering, as they drove their pride and joy that was built before air conditioning. And the farmers driving their tractors.... well, they got a little relief from what breeze there was since they were perched atop their old tractors. Machines that hark back to a simpler time. Machines that once were the envy of farmers for miles around. Machines that had been painstakingly restored to their former glory, and lovingly stored away, only to be brought out for special occasions such as this.

They were followed by the town's only fire truck. The volunteer fire fighters had spent the better part of two days getting her polished and ready for the 4th of July parade. I loved the trucks bright red paint... you could see your face in it. And the shiny silver carriage holding the long ladders with neatly folded white hoses stacked across the back.... it was the neatest vehicle I had ever seen.

Then came the American flag, flanked by an honor guard from our local 45th Artillery Division. Everyone stood and took off their baseball cap or straw cowboy hat. One by one, the right hand of every man, woman and child moved in rhythm, like a wave slowly moving along the crowd that was hugging the street, until each person's right hand rested on their heart.

Several old men in overalls and some young men in crisp, new uniforms saluted with their right hand against their forehead. Old soldiers remembering; new soldiers bound for duty. But we all saluted. It was a ritual everyone knew. And it happened time and time again, year after year, parade after parade.

I was so impressed with the sense of pride the people in my town seemed to have for the flag. But I wondered why it was so important. What made it such a revered, universal icon for the generations before me? I know it was a symbol for America, but why was it more important than, say, our state flag? We never saluted that! Yet I was just as proud of my state as I was of America!

So, later in the day, after the parade, and after my family had enjoyed the wonderful picnic feast of cold chicken, potato salad, baked beans and homemade ice cream down at the city park, I determined to ask my dad why that flag was so important to everyone. And it turned out to be one of those magical moments between a father and his son.

He said, "Son, that flag tells the story of America. Every time I see it, I think of my heritage and my freedoms- of your heritage and freedoms. I think of our house. It is ours. We can own it because of that flag. And I think of our church, and of all the other churches in here in town. We can go to any of them because of that flag.

"I think about where we live. Your mom and & I choose to live here because we were born and raised here, and it has been our family's home for three generations now. We love it here. But we are free to move anytime. And when you grow up, you can live anywhere you want to in America- as long as that flag waves over every state capitol, hangs in every school room, and is carried in every parade.

"It's a reminder that we are all Americans first. We each share a unity as Americans that is first in importance. Every one of us has an undivided allegiance to be Americans first- even before we are Iowans, or Virginians, or Oklahomans, or wherever our place of residence may be. That's what the word _United_ in United States means. We have a special duty to understand and preserve and defend our country first, above everything else."

He went on, "And when I see that flag, I think about my father and my grandfather. You see, to be free was just as important to them. I guess I realize that you and I are free partly because of them. Because they served their country as soldiers when it became necessary to devote their time to an interest greater than themselves. It's the same thing we would do if it were ever required of us. And it will be the same for your children and grandchildren.

"The flag tells of great struggles, of people with such valor and courage that the ideals and honor of our country were dearer to them than their own lives. Think about that! Your grandfather was just such a man. He died when your mom was just three years old. He died fighting in a country he had never heard of, against a people he never knew. And he did it willingly, for America. Think about what that means to be willing to give up your life because the freedom of others is threatened. Surely, there can be no greater virtue!"

And then he made it come home so clearly to me. He said, "Son, there is something that you must also understand about being an American. You cannot be saved by the valor and devotion of your ancestors. Duty is required of every generation. If the times ever comes, the hope of America rests upon your willingness to sacrifice and endure the same as those before you have sacrificed and endured. That's what it means to be an American. That's what it means to be patriotic. That's what it means to revere the great names in our history, and to keep them before every generation in our schools and in our government.

"And that's why we doff our hats and salute the flag. In its threads rests the inspirations of a free people. We are standing on the shoulders of giants."

Looking back on it now, I have to admit that I wasn't sure I understood all that my dad told me that afternoon. But I did know this.... it was all of a sudden a lot more important to me that I was an American.

That was 58 years ago. And I still can't watch a parade without placing my hand on my heart when our flag is carried by.

Does our flag make a difference?


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Sasquatch said:


> an allegiance to the ideals of our forefathers.


indeed, me also. I said it thinking not of a political party, government group, office, or any elected member

I swore it thinking of farmers and fisherman, doctors and dentists, mothers and fathers, and my Fellow Service members


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

The history of the pledge and the man who penned it.

https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/whats-conservative-about-pledge-allegiance

Remember, "Under God" was added to it, later.

The flag represents the people? Sheesh, people; a flag represents a nation. What are the elements of a nation? There are three. 1) Defined land 2) the people inhabiting the land 3)_ the government_.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

I'm curious what Ms @RJAMES thinks about this?

:tango_face_grin:


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Nothing wrong with a curtsy, it's still homage to our great country.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Back Pack Hack said:


> OK, it's time to drag this out:
> 
> *Does Our Flag Make A Difference?*
> 
> ...


Very moving story. Moving; inflaming passion (emotion).



> "*It's a reminder that we are all Americans first*. We each share a unity as Americans that is first in importance. Every one of us has an undivided allegiance to be Americans first- even before we are Iowans, or Virginians, or Oklahomans, or wherever our place of residence may be. That's what the word United in United States means. We have a special duty to understand and preserve and defend our country first, above everything else."


Had you asked Thomas Jefferson what he was, he would have proudly told you he was a Virginian.
@Sasquatch sees it as rememberance of the ideals of our forefathers. I like that, but we know that isn't what the socialist author had in mind. Speaking of which, why didn't the founding fathers see the need in a pledge of allegiance to the federal government (play semantics all day, but you know that is what it stands for, today). 
When they set out to craft a federal government, they were attempting to craft a federal government with limited powers with all other powers reserved for the states and the people. How times have changed.

Think about how times have changed. States are most definitely under control of the very powerful federal government. The states' citizens are directly taxed by the federal government and those dollars are held over the heads of the states so that the states must do as the federal regulations dictate. Federal socialist programs make entice the national population to vote for socialists so that they get more of others' money. Senators are elected by the people instead of sent by the state governments, further removing the states from having any influence over the federal government.

The founding fathers saw no need for a pledge of allegiance to the federal government, a government that was not supposed to be the most important entity, but a socialist did.

Something to ponder with your head and not your heart. Inflamed passions lead us in wrong directions.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

The Tourist said:


> Nothing wrong with a curtsy, it's still homage to our great country.


I think we understand the implications of a pledge. It's more than a curtsy. Not that pledges or oaths are taken seriously, nowadays. After all, do the politicians in D.C. take their oaths seriously?


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## ekim (Dec 28, 2012)

Slippy said:


> I'm curious what Ms @RJAMES thinks about this?
> 
> :tango_face_grin:


I could care less what rjames thinks, he is nothing to me. And the tourist and steve kozak is going on that list too.


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## ekim (Dec 28, 2012)

Denton said:


> I think we understand the implications of a pledge. It's more than a curtsy. Not that pledges or oaths are taken seriously, nowadays. After all, do the politicians in D.C. take their oaths seriously?


The only thing politicians take seriously is peoples money, rights and freedoms.


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## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

Denton said:


> Had you asked Thomas Jefferson what he was, he would have proudly told you he was a Virginian.
> @Sasquatch sees it as rememberance of the ideals of our forefathers. I like that, but we know that isn't what the socialist author had in mind. Speaking of which, why didn't the founding fathers see the need in a pledge of allegiance to the federal government (play semantics all day, but you know that is what it stands for, today).
> *When they set out to craft a federal government, they were attempting to craft a federal government with limited powers with all other powers reserved for the states and the people.* How times have changed.
> 
> ...


So then you don't support a National reciprocity? That would take power away from a state.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Sasquatch said:


> So then you don't support a National reciprocity? That would take power away from a state.


The right to keep and bear arms is a God-given right and not one that should be restricted or regulated by a government at any level.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

ekim said:


> I could care less what rjames thinks, he is nothing to me. And the tourist and steve kozak is going on that list too.


I'm interested in what @RJAMES has to say on the topic. The @The Resister, too.

This topic is very interesting to me. The world would be very topsy-turvy to the founding fathers.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Denton, our younger members might not know how the Framers felt about the Bill of Rights.

In essence, you could tear up the Bill of Rights, but nothing would happen as far as speech or firearms. The Bill itself did not give them rights under law, rather it recognized the freedoms already given the colonials by God.

It's not a Bill of Privileges, it's a Bill of Rights. This is why the 22,000 laws of states, counties and municipalities against firearms are all unconstitutional. It's not the 2A that does that, it's the 10A.

Tenth Amendment is an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, guaranteeing to the states and the people those rights that are _not delegated to the federal government_ by the Constitution. Since the 2A is a Federally recognized right, it cannot be undone by a state.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

The Tourist said:


> Denton, our younger members might not know how the Framers felt about the Bill of Rights.
> 
> In essence, you could tear up the Bill of Rights, but nothing would happen as far as speech or firearms. The Bill itself did not give them rights under law, rather it recognized the freedoms already given the colonials by God.
> 
> ...


FREAKING A!!! Awesome post!


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## stevekozak (Oct 4, 2015)

ekim said:


> I could care less what rjames thinks, he is nothing to me. And the tourist and steve kozak is going on that list too.


Well, I would like to say I am happy for the company, but...&#8230;..:vs_wave:


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

"When we honor our flag, we honor what we stand for as a Nation - freedom, equality, justice, and hope."
Ronald Reagan

"If anyone, then, asks me the meaning of our flag, I say to him - it means just what Concord and Lexington meant; what Bunker Hill meant, which was, in short, the rising up of a valiant young people against an old tyranny to establish the most momentous doctrine that the world had ever known - the right of men to their own selves and to their liberties."
Henry Ward Beecher


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

rice paddy daddy said:


> "When we honor our flag, we honor what we stand for as a Nation - freedom, equality, justice, and hope."
> Ronald Reagan
> 
> "If anyone, then, asks me the meaning of our flag, I say to him - it means just what Concord and Lexington meant; what Bunker Hill meant, which was, in short, the rising up of a valiant young people against an old tyranny to establish the most momentous doctrine that the world had ever known - the right of men to their own selves and to their liberties."
> Henry Ward Beecher


Yes, I agree. Still, brother, you are mixing apples and oranges.

focus.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Denton said:


> Yes, I agree. Still, brother, you are mixing apples and oranges.
> 
> focus.


I am speaking of our flag.
Which is what this thread morphed into back at post #5 on page one.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

rice paddy daddy said:


> I am speaking of our flag.
> Which is what this thread morphed into back at post #5 on page one.


The thread is about a pledge, brother. Do you remember the rest of the pledge? Did you read the history of that pledge? Do you think I am making stuff up?


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Whatever.
Have a good evening, my friend.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

rice paddy daddy said:


> Whatever.
> Have a good evening, my friend.


Whatever? Gurlfand? Freakin learn the founders! Damn!
I hate knee-jerk shit.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands...

I'll borrow a bit from a great man, long passed:


> *I*, me, an individual, a committee of one.
> 
> *Pledge*, dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self pity.
> 
> ...


Red Skelton presented this as it was given to him, by his teacher back in school. He comments later that the country added 2 states since that time, and 2 words to its pledge, "under God".
@Denton, my friend... Whatever misguided reasons the author of the pledge may have held, they do not discount or alter the meanings of the words chosen. The original is hardly even recognizable in the current form.
Our flag stands for all that socialism/communism abhors.
A true republic stands in direct opposition to anything such ideologies could seek to accomplish.
Liberty... "*which *IS* freedom*", the scorching retort to ANY communist's dream.

This is not a pledge to a government. It is not a pledge to a person. It is not a pledge to a body of any sort.
It is a pledge to an idea.
An idea embodied in a flag that now sports 50 individual, yet united, shining stars.
An idea that brought forth a great nation founded in individual liberty and responsibility, but united together for a common strength.

Despite the wishes of the author, I do not pledge to a government when I recite this lyric.
I pledge to the same ideal that prompted another pledge by 56 bold men.
*"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."
- The Declaration of Independence*
I pledge that this nation will always be free. That its people will always be free. That its states will always be free. That I will do all I can to work toward that end.

...one Nation,
under God,
indivisible,
with liberty,
and justice,
for all.

I will concede this, I do wish the competing pledge of the time had received more support:
"We give our heads and hearts to God and our country; one country, one language, one flag!" - Captain George T. Balch, a veteran of the Civil War
:tango_face_wink:


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