WASHINGTON  -  Nothing brings our nation together better than the shared traditions of our flag, and the words with which we pledge allegiance to it.

As Americans, the flag is more than a symbol to us.  It represents our pride in our country, the sacrifices of our soldiers, our businesses and institutions, and the spirit that binds us to one another: state to state, past to present, American to American.  Though it is an inanimate thing, the flag is also a living fabric.  It embodies the national pride and patriotic love of millions of Americans over hundreds of years.

But sadly, we do not pledge allegiance to our flag very often any more.  The words that start every day in Congress, and used to start every day in our schools, appear more as
the subject of newspaper articles than they do in public life.

The Pledge of Allegiance is endangered as much by our inattention to it as by the constant efforts to remove its most important content.

Yet those efforts are very real.  Since Congress added the words “under God” to it
in 1954, the pledge has been beset by controversy and court challenges.  The pledge
has persevered, but at a great cost.  In an individualistic age when some people do not
accept a power higher than their own, the mention of God in the pledge has made our
very patriotism controversial.

It should not.  From our Founders to our future, God plays an important role in our
identity as a nation.  Far from violating the separation of church and state, the reference of  “under God” reminds us of our place among nations, in history, and in the order of the world.  It reminds us of the blessings bestowed upon us as a people.  It reminds us
of our obligation to one another.

The pledge provides a forum for all ideas American in our Republic.  Using a system of courts to edit the pledge and impose changes according to the few, however, is far
from the intent of our Founders.  The censorship of the words “under God” is, itself,
un-American.

Now, it could easily be argued that the phrase “under God” doesn’t belong in the pledge, just as you could argue that this one nation is not “indivisible.”  But the inclusion
of both ideas is important because they remind us that, at our most basic, we are Americans who are only caretakers of a nation that is bigger than ourselves.

With that in mind, the U.S. House of Representatives voted last week to protect our
pledge from court challenges and activist judges.  Interpreting our pledge is the
responsibility of all Americans, but that interpretation should not take place in courts
when it is the intent of unelected officials to change this American institution.  It should
take place during private reflection after the pledge is said and heard. 

In order to ensure the pledge remains in the hands of the American people, H.R. 2028, the Pledge Protection Act, was approved by the margin of 247-173.  The bill prevents courts from judging the constitutionality of the content of the Pledge of Allegiance.  That activity is best left to Americans to practice, often, in their patriotic lives.

Ultimately, this is the reason for the pledge in the first place: to enable us to interact with our flag, to see it as a living symbol, to let it guide our patriotic spirit.  As for me,