The Pledge Of Allegiance: Patriotism In The United States

The Pledge of Allegiance was specifically made for showing off patriotism in the United States when it was originally written in 1892. This was until 1954, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Congress added “under God” to the pledge (Encyclopedia Britannica). This has started causing a stir in the United States. Some say it should be changed or maybe even removed. Some say it should stay. I believe it should be changed, but it is not required to be removed. No one country specifically has God’s sponsorship, says a professor at the University of Chicago (University of Chicago). America is no more under God than Israel, Britain, India, Germany or Russia. It just does not make much sense to specifically point out that America is under God. You could say it is because America is majority Christian. However, other countries like Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, and many others are also predominately Christian.
The second reason is because those who refuse the pledge because of religious beliefs may be subject to bias and harassment (Secular Coalition for America).
Some people have different beliefs and may believe strongly about those beliefs. Atheists do not believe in any gods, some, like Muslims for example, don’t call him God, rather Allah. Those who refuse because of their beliefs are subject to ridicule. And even then, some people who have different beliefs may be too shy because of this, and give in to the peer pressure and do something they don’t think of as right. Now, some people will not agree with this. They may say “Well, religion teaches us basic principles” (Brownback). However, religion is not the only driving force of ethics. Most people understand from the get-go what’s good and what’s bad. If they think things like murder are ok from the beginning, they have a mental disease. About 19.6% of just America’s population do not follow religion (Newport), and I am very sure these people have about the same
ethics. In conclusion, the statement “Under God” in the pledge should be changed. Some may agree, maybe even say it should be removed. Some may disagree with that statement and want to keep it in. In my personal opinion, I think they should simply decapitalize it, to generalize ALL gods instead of the Christian God. Or it could be removed, but I do believe that would be the more controversial and irrational act though. I think this because no one country has God’s sponsorship (University of Chicago), and those who refuse to do the pledge because of their beliefs may be subject to harassment (Secular Coalition for America). Originally, the Pledge was specifically for showing off patriotism in the United States in all people. Now, it singles out to only one specific type of people.