How many of you out there remember saying the Pledge of Allegance without the words "under God"? I do. President Eisenhower added these words in 1954 through the urging of the Hearst Newspapers, the American Legion and The Knights of Columbus. So any of you born before 1950 recited the "godless" pledge also.

The Pledge was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a socialist Baptist minister and school board chairman. The pledge was first recited publicly on Columbus Day that same year by school children across the country.

Bellamy's original pledge is quite different in substance and meaning from what we are familar with today.

"I pledge allegiance to MY flag and the Republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and Justice for all."

Two things stand out. One, obviously, being the absence of any reference to God. The second is that Bellamy's pledge is not to the flag, but to my flag. The idea of a pledge started back in 1889 as a way to teach children patriotism and to further the americanization of immigrants. To me, this indicates that the pledge was originally intended to be an oath not a prayer.

My flag was changed to the flag of the United States in 1923 because various patriotic organizations felt that foreign-born children might think of their mother country's flag rather that the Stars and Stripes. In 1924, of America was added. And, finally, under God was added in 1954.

So, what's all the fuss about now? Many adults in my generation and all those still alive in my parents' generation never said the "under God" pledge at school. The pledge was part of the patriotic classroom trilogy; the flag, the pledge of allegiance, and a portrait of George Washington. Whether we said under God or not, it was all part of being taught to love our country.

Personally, it doesn't bother me that under God is in the pledge. BUT, I can understand how people who don't believe in God or whose concept of God is different from yours or mine might be offended. Those mentioned above who were responsible for adding those "two little words" were short-sighted, but to their defense, acting appropriately for the times. In the early '50s, most people couldn't tell you where Iran or Iraq were. Most didn't know Islam from Hinduism. And the majority thought God was white and male.

Should under God be taken out of the pledge or, as some might say, restored to its pre-1954 condition? That's a tough question. It's been said that you can never go home again. I believe it should stay in the pledge, but either way, the fight in the media, the courts, and public opinion will take its toll on the esteem of the United States around the world. It will again highlight how devisive our society still is.