And now for something completely different...
I DON'T LIKE THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE! [%|]
Except for the "republic" part and the "liberty" part, I think the whole thing is a piece of Reconstruction-era "one-nation" (a la "one-world") propaganda. After the Civil War they wanted to brainwash kids to think that the nation was "indivisible," so nobody would ever have the balls to go their own way again no matter how tyrannical the federal government becomes.
It irritates me too that the primary pledge is to the flag, with the republic seeming like an afterthought and NO MENTION of the Constitution.
And "under God"? Why should the children of athiests, agnostics (such as myself), Shintos, Wiccans or whatever be forced by state schools to recite those words?
Don't get me wrong: I wish the schools would spend a lot more time teaching the facts of the Revolutionary War, Founding Fathers, etc. and let kids develop their own reason-based appreciation for this country. I'm just against mindless indoctrination.
"I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the limited Republic that it creates. One Nation, united by reason, striving towards liberty and justice for all."