What was YOUR definition?

Author's Note: This piece was originally for the Patriot's Pen Essay contest but I lengthened it so that it could be the essay to be scored instead and that I am happy with.

The flag with broad stripes. The flag with bright stars. The flag whose body billows in the wind. The flag with red stripes. The flag with a blue square. The flag with 50 stars. The flag with white stripes. The flag that is hung from a flag pole. The flag that represents The United States of America.

“Whose broad stripes and bright stars…”  This is part of our National anthem. The root word of National is nation. Our nation. “one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”  One nation as a whole. We are one nation joined together. But it didn’t just happen that way. Our founding fathers didn’t just set us up and we were good to carry on for the next thousands of years. We had to put a lot of work into it and fix up what went wrong when our founding fathers first took control.

Our founding fathers really should have thought long and hard about the choices they make and the consequences that we will have in the future of America. Everything has changed since our founding fathers had started this country. For example, even something as simple as the Pledge of Allegiance has been changed multiple times. It started out as… “"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The main outline of the Pledge of Allegiance was stating that you were making a pledge to both the flag and the Republic. And not only to the flag, but to my flag. This is our flag that they are talking about. Also, notice how the original pledge did not have the words, “under God.” Originally, they were not having us pledge that this nation is one of which stands under God. Although, the thing that they did state was that there was liberty and justice for all.

Liberty: When everyone is free within the set laws of authorities (our government). Justice: Being just or fair, so everyone is treated equally. There were slaves in America! Hello!? Did our founding fathers not know what liberty and justice meant? Was Martin Luther King Jr. free? Because if he did have liberty and justice, then I don’t see why he went and wrote I have a dream. One would only write that, if they actually had a dream and he did. It was to be free. So he didn’t have that clearly stated so called liberty  and justice. But if the pledge states that everyone has liberty and justice, then that’s the only thing you can do right? I mean it says it right there so according to government, he was free except for some minor exceptions that they decide to leave out. No! He wasn’t free! Another example, Rosa Parks. She was free because it says so right there in the pledge that everyone says before school starts in the morning. So because she had liberty and justice, she had to give up her seat for a white man? If you didn’t have white skin, you were either stuck way in the back of the bus or you were off. That isn’t how liberty works. That does not sound just or fair to me so I don’t know what was going through the heads of our founding fathers.

If somebody is a citizen of America, they shouldn’t be treated any less because of their skin color. There is no difference in people. Everyone is equal. What happened to justice, founding fathers!? What was your definition? I know my definition is when EVERYONE (I cannot stress that enough) is treated with equal fairness and equal rights. I don’t think Rosa Parks was being treated fair when she was kicked out of her seat! It’s a bus for crying out loud! Everyone should be treated equally for other things but it all comes down to something as silly as riding a bus from one place to another, that Rosa Parks would have to give up her seat for a white man.

I would really like to know their definition and understanding of our pledge. It doesn’t compare to what it means now. I personally think that it is pretty sad that people would come over to America to be free, and find themselves having to run away from being sold into slavery and having to find only certain states to be free in. We are The United States of America. One nation  as a whole. Together, fighting for what is right. But our founding fathers? They didn’t give us what was right.