Card check and the Pledge of Allegiance

Chicago Wednesday PM, April 1, 2009

Editors, Wall Street Journal

Gentlepeople:

A letter in the Wednesday, April 1, 2009 Wall Street Journal "Court Might Uphold 'Card Check'" compares the lack of anonymity under 'card check' union voting with the lack of anonymity in a public-school classroom recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, where a student "whether he recites the pledge or not, will be seen as expressing himself...."

A vote is a group choice, while public recitation of the Pledge is a promise, to support the nation as an institution, which seems reasonable considering the pupil would not even be going to a public school if it wasn't established by the government. Of course, the poor little 'pledge', written by a defrocked minister (rolling in his grave over the addition of the words "under God") is hardly up to the task.

Replacing it with the first 71 words of the Declaration of Independence ("When in the course of Human events..." thru ""the consent of the governed",) followed by the last 32 words ("And for the support of this declaration" thru "our Sacred Honor.") would be a promise expected of every citizen, as are the promises of the President to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution" and members of the Armed Forces to "obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me...."

Arnold H Nelson 5056 North Marine Drive Chicago IL 60640