The Pledge of Allegiance

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/04/EDDG1HIFU9.DTL


I respect Jane Kim's stand on reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. That is her right as guaranteed by the Constitution.
This is how I learned the Pledge as a child. "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stahds, One Nation, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all".
The phrase "under God" was added later as a sop to the religious right. It was part of their hope to change the United States from a secular state to a country with an official religion.
I gladly recite the Pledge as a citizen and a veteran when the occasion calls for it. However, I will not say "under God". The First Amendment guarantees me this right. Freedon of Religion is also freedom FROM religion.