A new pledge of allegiance

Recently I was in a space where attendees were expected to rise and say the U.S. pledge of allegiance. As the group recited, I wondered about the origins of the pledge and the practice of recitation enshrined as a civic responsibility, especially for children in schools.

I started doing some digging, learning that the pledge was first created in 1892 to commemorate 400 years since Columbus “discovered” America. It has been edited twice, most recently in the 1950s during the Cold War to add the words “under God.” As both the narrative about Columbus and the collective challenges facing human beings have changed dramatically, I submit to you that it’s time for a (significant) revision.  

In 1892, the world population was estimated at 1.4 billion people. By the time I was born, the population had climbed to 3.5 billion. It has more than doubled since then. Air quality as well as food, energy and water shortages are global problems with local implications everywhere. In the U.S., militarism (generated by capitalism, racism, and fear) consumes funding for food and shelter for millions, and climate remediation efforts for all of us, while unleashing devastation on sisters and brothers elsewhere and on Earth herself. 

In 2026, the need to coordinate response and care for our planet exceeds ties to national identity at this time on the clock of the world. As in the original version of the pledge, we can celebrate discovery — the genuine discovery of this deeply interconnected reality, and the discovery that the current laws of economics (growth at any cost, competition, urgency) deeply conflict with the laws of our planet: of balance, relationships, and seasonal unfolding. As pioneering systems thinker Dana Meadows stated: “When there’s an inconsistency between human economics and the laws of planet Earth, which do you think is going to win?” 

Take a look at this new version. Imagine it being spoken in schools, courtrooms, and assemblies of every kind. What do you think?  

I pledge allegiance to our Earth and to the living systems that sustain us. And to this planet, our only home, one species, undivided, with love, freedom and justice for all. 

As the U.S. prepares to celebrate it’s 250th year as an independent country — in a moment when U.S. political division and ideological extremism endanger the lives and safety of immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, women and the planet — we offer this revised pledge as a counter to patriotism that includes so few, with a focus on what unites us. Join Pace e Bene and our friends at the M.K. Gandhi Institute in pledging allegiance to our Earth on social media. Record a video of yourself reciting this new pledge and collaborate with us on social media (Instagram, Facebook) so we can show just how many of us are working to create a more nonviolent future.

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