“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.”
I think that we, as a nation, have forgotten the meaning of this powerful pledge. Growing up, I was taught that we are to treat every single person with love and respect, no matter how hard it may be. I can still hear my grandfather saying, “You do not always have to like a person, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t love them.”
This ideal has been lost in this country. I think that everyone needs a good long trip to the farm, where hard work seems effortless because of the company you keep and God is on the mind all day as we pray for good health and even better weather.
It is no secret that the number of farms in the United States has been rapidly dwindling in past decades. The children of farmers are going on to become business men and women who live in high rise apartments in the city. The average American is now three generations removed from the farm. That means that the values of the farming lifestyle are also three generations removed.
I can’t sit here and say that this is the sole reason for the violence happening in the world today, because that just isn’t true. There has always been violence and unfortunately there always will be. All that I can say is that growing up with agriculture as such a huge part of your childhood, makes you understand the value of life.
Last summer, I was able to interview various farmers from around Illinois. One of the questions asked was, “What is your favorite part about farming?” Not surprisingly, we heard the same answer time and time again. They said that watching the crops grow was an amazing feeling. Their crops are their babies, in a way. They have created new life. These farmers watch each year as their crops grow and are harvested and then the process starts all over again.
“One nation under God,” We have lost the love that this symbolizes. “Indivisible,” I don’t think that anyone in this country can say that we have not become a divided nation. “With liberty and justice for all.” We have lost this way of living, I do not see liberty or justice being given to anyone in this world.
The Pledge of Allegiance means a lot to the men and women in small town America. Where I grew up, we were taught that life is a precious gift from God and no one life is more important than another because they all have a purpose.That is the ideal that our country was built on and what we need is to find our way back to that way of living.
