At the beginning of each school day students ranging from kindergarten to high school seniors repeat an oath to a nation that has lasted hundreds of years.

As touching as that may sound, these students have no choice in the matter which takes away any sincerity possible.

The oath itself was never meant to grow into what it is today.

Created in 1892 by Francis Bellamy and published in The Youth’s Companion magazine by James B. Upman, the original purpose of the Pledge of Allegiance sounded more like a step in a get rich quick scheme.

Upman, with the intention of promoting nationalism throughout the country, began selling American flags and magazines containing the Pledge to schools. After a few months, the Pledge went national and became a part of schools in America.

An American tradition was born out of this petty attempt to take advantage of the pride we take in our country.

The original oath was short and meant for unification.

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

No mention of God was needed. Students of all backgrounds could recite it without worry.

Today, students as far back as kindergarteners are made to repeat the phrase “under God” no matter what they believe in.

Choosing to sit out due to a difference of beliefs will seem unpatriotic.

Instead we force innocent kids and teens to testify against their beliefs to fuel our nation’s ego.

We are too blinded by our glorified patriotism to understand the complications of the addition of “under God”.

This problem didn’t start until the beginning of the Cold War.

“It was the spring of 1954, and Congress had voted, after some controversy, to insert the phrase into the Pledge of Allegiance, partly as a cold war rejoinder to ‘godless’ communism.” reports Jeffery Owen Jones, writer for the Smithsonian Magazine.

Since their inclusion, those two words have started numerous court cases about how the pledge itself is a violation between the Separation of Church and State.

Some of these cases, including one in 2011, have tried to amend this to no avail.

Students today are repeating a statement that no longer applies to our nation.

We aren’t citizens of a purely catholic nation, and communist Russia no longer exists.

The Pledge of Allegiance is no longer a testament to who we are as a nation.

Instead it is an unneeded reminder of a bleak past