UNITED WE STAND: I remember when I was in school, we would always begin the day with reciting The Pledge of Allegiance. We’d all stand, put our hands over our hearts and together say,
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic FOR WHICH IT STANDS, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
There was something special that resonated inside me when we recited the pledge of allegiance because the values for which the flag “stood for” matched my own. The words seemed loving and fair. The words seemed to inspired hope and a bright future for all. THIS is the true America. THIS is true patriotism. A flag symbolically represents the identity and purpose of that which it stands for. As we approach the 4th of July, let us remember what our flag truly stands for and TAKE A STAND for what the true spirit of the Republic is all about. After all, if we don’t STAND for something, we will FALL for anything.”
*ONE NATION
We cannot say “one nation” if we are not fostering equality and equity for everyone. Equality is about dividing resources in matching amounts, whereas equity focuses more on dividing resources proportionally to achieve a fair outcome for all those involved.
*UNDER GOD
We cannot say “under God” if we do not have the freedom to worship. Defining God for others is “playing God” and not allowing God to be God.
The freedom to worship is the right of individuals or groups to practice their religious beliefs without interference or persecution from others or the government. It is important to remember that the word “God” means different things to different people. Therefore, “God” is The Great Spirit to the indigenous, The Triple Goddess to the Wiccan, Allah to the Muslim, etc. God can also be known as the eternal Source energy or even the Universe. To me, God is Love so I refer to God as Unconditional Love. Ultimately, we want to say, “Namaste” which means, “The Divine in me sees the Divine in you.” By seeing “God” or the Divine in others keeps us from judging others because that would be like us judging God.
*INDIVISIBLE
We cannot say “indivisible” if we are not working toward unity.
We have become a two party system driven by special interest groups that fund them. There is a saying that a house divided against itself CANNOT STAND.” It is an unfortunate reality that America is falling from within because we have allowed ourselves to be divided by intolerance and not be indivisible as one nation. We are in an un-American state if we are not unified. We need to recognize the candidates who truly represents these values our flag stood for. We call other Americans who are different from us as un-American. We must be able to see the red, white, and blue representing all citizens that align with the values our flag stood for.
*WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE
We cannot say “with liberty and justice” if we are not free to be ourselves.
America is a melting pot of differences working together to validate all perspectives. Our national anthem ends with “O’er the land of the FREE and the home of the brave.” Our veterans fought for the FREEDOM of every American to be themselves in a safe and protected environment.
*FOR ALL
We cannot say, “for all” if we are alienating anyone.
All means including everyone and excluding no one.
It calls for tolerance, embracing and celebrating diversity, and creating equity for every citizen.
For All