Allegiance
"I pledge allegiance to the flag...." There
are certain features of my education that
are rapidly becoming as distant and curi­
ous as sextants and rotary phones. One, I
think, shall be the Pledge ofAllegiance and
perhaps even the American flag that I have
known since a child.
Before Mr. Eiden was even sworn into
office, his nominee for Secretary of State,
Mr. Antony Blinken, announced that he
would reverse the ban of LGBT+ flags
being flown at American embassies and
consulates. Currently, the Federal Code
regarding the flying of flags allows certain
flags to be flown next to the American flag
on federal property. The interpretation that
the code permits the LGBT+ banner dates
from the Obama Presidency. One must
assume that this means that in addition to
U.S. Marine details saluting an American
flag adjacent to the flashy banner-a ban­
ner representing the ideology of perhaps
5% of the population-future school chil­
dren may also place their hands over their
hearts and recite the words of allegiance
before a riot of flags fluttering around the
entrance to schools.
Pledges and flags are complicated mat­
ters. The Pledge itself, so normal for my
generation and prior, is the creation of a
former Union officer and a Protestant
StAR March/ April 2021 page 36
minister, who looked upon the fractious
landscape of America in the 1880s and
'90s and saw little but conflict and mor­
al decline. Their response was a simple
pledge to Republic and the use of the flag
as a symbol of the unity needed for a nation
to endure. Over time, details were added:
The original "Republic" was expanded
into "the Republic of the United States of
America" and by 1954 through the joint
effort of the Daughters of the American
Revolution, the Knights of Columbus,
and a presbyterian minister, President Ei­
senhower was persuaded to add the words
"under God". In his view, this clarified the
transcendent foundation and spiritual pro­
tection of America.
Flags are equally complex. Most Amer­
icans realize the number of stars in the
blue canton have changed as states entered
the Union. The stripes of red and white,
we learn as school children, bid us to re­
member those Thirteen Colonies that broke
from English tyranny.
In the early years of the American
Revolution there were a variety of flags
employed-one of my favorites is the re­
markable Taunton Flag, designed to rally
citizens in southern New England against
the over-reaching "red coats". That flag
has the Union Jack in the canton and the
rest is a scarlet field with
the words "Liberty
and Union" with­
in. Liberty from or
for what? Union
with whom? His-
tory suggests it
meant tradi-
tional British
liberty (i.e.,
representa­
tion) within
the Union of the Brit­
ish Empire. The first independent
American flag parallels this vision and
equally expresses the British core ofAmer­
ican culture. The flag authorized by Con­
gress in 1775, flown over Washington's
headquarters, and used as the American
flag until the summer of 1 777, was the Flag
of Grand Union. Almost identical to the
flag of the East India Tea Company, it had
a field of alternating red and white stripes
and the Union Jack within the canton.The
message, again, was clear: Union with the
Crown and Empire, but mature treatment
and proper political representation.It is in­
teresting to note that the coat of arms of the
Washington family, dating back to the thir­
teenth century, was a field of red and white
stripes, crowned by stars. In any case, those
early flags testify to an American identity
somewhat at variance with storybook his­
tory, but one which sought to express unity,
maturity, and regard for tradition.
Shall children pledge their allegiance
anymore? Can they? Should they? What
will the flag represent? With the long col­
lapse of the Boy Scouts of America, Girl
Scouts of America, and other heritage or­
ganizations, most Americans no longer
learn how they should treat the American
flag. The Flag Code of the United States
is an unenforceable part of law, yet it calls
Americans to view the symbol of unity
with respect, if not natural piety. Think of
both ends of our political divide for a mo­
ment, then reflect on what the code asks
Americans never to do to the flag of the
United States: It is never to be in shadow or
touch the ground; or touch merchandise; or
be used as, on, or within any clothing; and
especially never to incorporate other imag­
es, symbols, or words upon it, or promote
any cause other than due representation of
the American Republic. But what does al­
legiance to the Republic now mean? Is it
"one nation"? Is it "under God"?
William Fahey is President of Thomas More
College ofLiberal Arts in New Hampshire.