Back in the good old days, pre 1950, we were pleased and proud to pledge allegiance to our flag and our nation. When I was a lad at the old Lowell School, we stood at attention and placed our right hand over our heart when the flag was raised every morning and once in the classroom we performed the same ceremony to recite the pledge. But in those days the pledge was to "one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." It was a daily reminder that we lived in great democracy that recognized the worth and value of every citizen. Now, we are no longer "one nation, indivisible" because inserting the phrase "under God" divides this nation into those who believe they live "under God" and those who don't. The growing political influence of the religious fanatics will soon press to have "Christians" added to end of the pledge so that it will read "one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all Christians." Then the transformation of our democracy to a theocracy will be complete.

Until that time I encourage reasonable people to resist forcing school children to recite the pledge of allegiance and to urge congress to delete the phrase "under God" and restore the pledge to its secular role recognizing the United States as "one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

--Flo Wineriter