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During last year’s presidential campaign,[1] The 1988 US Presidential Election between George W. Bush (R) and Michael Dukakis (D). I watched with fascination the techniques of evasiveness on important issues.
Witnessing the incredible amount of energy involved in the political furor related to the Pledge of Allegiance in our schools,[2] This occurred during the general election (after the primary elections were decided). As summarized in Wikipedia, “During the election, the Bush campaign sought to portray Dukakis as an unreasonable “Massachusetts liberal.” Dukakis was attacked for such positions as opposing mandatory recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools, and being a “card-carrying member of the ACLU” (a statement Dukakis made early in the primary campaign to appeal to liberal voters). Dukakis responded by saying that he was a “proud liberal” and that the phrase should not be a bad word in America.” when this energy might have been better used for solving some of our major planetary and social problems such as making peace, reducing pollution, feeding the hungry, etc., it occurred to me that since the “pledge” seemed likely to stay, that perhaps we could upgrade it, add some new verses, or even promote a new “global” pledge.
Such a repeated pledge, making use of affirmations and visual imagery without promulgating any particular country or religious point of view, would support the idea of unity while embracing individual freedom.
As an elder of my community, a parent, grandparent, and psychotherapist for 45 years, it would please me for our present generation to offer this new pledge to the children of the world.
| Contribute a translation | Source (English) |
|---|---|
I pledge allegiance to the Earth And to the Universal Spirit Which gives us Life; One planet, indivisible With Peace and Justice for us all. | |
I pledge to do my best To uphold the trust bestowed In the gift of my Life; To care for our planet and our atmosphere, To respect and honor all her inhabitants, All people, animals, plants and resources, To create a legacy for our children And our children’s children In a world of Harmony and Love. | |
I pledge allegiance to the Universal Spirit, By whatever name it may be called. I align my Life With the ongoing process of Creation; To grow myself with care, To act from my own integrity, To be for others How I would want them to be for me.[3] Cf. Leviticus 19:18. A/k/a, the “Golden Rule.” Also find, the corollary given in the name of Hillel the Elder in Talmud, Shabbat 31a.6. | |
Together, May we carry this vision in our Hearts, Into our daily choices, And through our expanding consciousness Within and beyond our planet… |
This “Global Pledge of Allegiance” by Edna A. Meisner-Reitz was first published in The Quest, vol. 2, issue 4, Winter 1989 (Theosophical Society of America), back cover, accompanied by a Letter to the Editor (on page 6).
Source(s)
Edna Reitz in The Quest – Letters to the Editor (Theosophical Society in America, Winter 1989), p. 6 Edna Reitz in The Quest – The Global Pledge of Allegiance (Theosophical Society in America, Winter 1989), back cover
Notes
| 1 | The 1988 US Presidential Election between George W. Bush (R) and Michael Dukakis (D). |
|---|---|
| 2 | This occurred during the general election (after the primary elections were decided). As summarized in Wikipedia, “During the election, the Bush campaign sought to portray Dukakis as an unreasonable “Massachusetts liberal.” Dukakis was attacked for such positions as opposing mandatory recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools, and being a “card-carrying member of the ACLU” (a statement Dukakis made early in the primary campaign to appeal to liberal voters). Dukakis responded by saying that he was a “proud liberal” and that the phrase should not be a bad word in America.” |
| 3 | Cf. Leviticus 19:18. A/k/a, the “Golden Rule.” Also find, the corollary given in the name of Hillel the Elder in Talmud, Shabbat 31a.6. |
“The Global Pledge of Allegiance, by Edna A. Maisner-Reitz (1988)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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