The Pledge of Allegiance

Before you watch Red Skelton explain the Pledge of Allegiance, I ask you to listen carefully—not only to the words, but to what they ask of us. Many of us learned to stand, place a hand over our heart, and recite them. Repetition can make even important words sound routine.

If we believe in the concept of the Pledge, we must believe in its promise. “One nation, indivisible” calls us to remember that we belong to one country, even when we disagree. “With liberty and justice for all” means all fifty states—not Republican states, Democratic states, or MAGA states, but all the states, and all the people who live in them.

Those words ask us to defend liberty and justice for neighbors whose beliefs differ from ours. If we believe in the Constitution, we must also honor the liberties and obligations our forefathers placed in our hands. We can carry our hopes into prayer and into the voting booth. We have no moral right to demand injustice, deny another person liberty, or place our desires above the rights of others. No party or leader owns the Pledge, and no individual should stand above the principles it names.

Red Skelton invites us to hear the Pledge word by word and remember its meaning. Please listen to his 1969 recitation and explanation, then ask yourself: Do I believe what I just pledged?

Thank you for listening. Let us live these words beyond the moment we recite them. We can carry our hopes for America into our prayers and the voting booth, while honoring the liberty and dignity of our fellow citizens. Our allegiance is to the United States of America and the principles its flag represents, not to any one individual. When we place a leader above the Pledge, we may be standing on the wrong platform.

And in closing, let us now place our hand over our heart and thoughtfully recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America.