I started thinking about the pledge a year or two after it was no longer mandatory. I came to the realization that I had absolutely no idea what the hell I was being forced to recite all those years. It was more like Ring around the Rosie, memorized word for word, but the words were only words. It did absolutely nothing to make me more patriotic. It would be interesting to see how different people around the country express how the pledge impacted their lives and patriotism. I don’t expect my experience to be universal, but I am quite certain that I would be EXACTY THE SAME PERSON if I didn’t say it 5 mornings a week for seven years. (Other than having memorized a few more sentences)