I spent only one third of my first 18 years of life in the US. While living in other countries I was most definitely self-identifying as an American, and happily spent summers visiting our American relatives in Michigan, New York, and Connecticut. But I also had a troubled relationship to notions of being “American” - the cliché of loud American tourists seemed all too true and unattractive, and my mother with her British upbringing and Scandinavian blood openly criticized (even while we benefited) the capitalist machine.
We moved to the states in the early 70’s when I was in 6th grade and I began to pick up bits of American history, learn about what was happening in Vietnam, and was introduced to the Pledge of Allegiance for the first time. Sheltered and naïve, I was drawn to those who were speaking out against the war, picking up on the voices of the Civil Rights movement – distant and whitewashed as they were in our suburb. Instinctively, and nervously, I followed those who refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance – the school allowed us our rights, thank goodness, but in the years since I have often wondered what would have happened if I was a person of color. I balked at what felt like blind, unexamined fervor, pledging allegiance to something as complicated as our country, and I particularly chafed at the “under God” – Whose God? What God” What if someone did not believe in a God?
Fast forward to January 2021, and I find myself wrestling with the pain the country is in – hoping that our democratic ideals will limp through and find a new calibration – more just, more understood, and more shared. Making art about politics is not easy, nor recommended, in my opinion – because often the work is didactic or banal. But making art about one’s relationship to politics is another thing and so I set out to record this moment of great conflict. How do I love my country? How can I embrace being American? How do I reconcile the violence this country is founded on? How do I participate in reparations to nations and people whose voices and labor and cultures were either wiped out, trodden on, used, or appropriated?
I pulled out The Pledge of Allegiance, learning of its telling origin and evolution (see below); choreographed a motif of agonizing labor, effort, and grit; determined a costume and props that could allude to history and traditions; and found a location in downtown Columbus with a sculpture about justice by Andrew Scott and as timing would have it, with state troopers and National Guard milling in the background (this was filmed on Saturday, January 17th). I was in a precipitous environment, and so with my sense of urgency to jump out of the car, set up the camera, and film quickly, I failed to get the best “frame” for the film, but perhaps that adds a little to the literal “edge” I feel in making this. I’m exhausted, our country is complicated and yet still my pledge is to commit to the righteous values we espouse, and to work at a new America that must give “Liberty and Justice To All.”
video: https://vimeo.com/501895048
1892: “I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. Rev. Francis Bellamy, a Christian Socialist, wrote this version, not too long after the Civil War wishing to underscore the nation’s unity, and remind all of the fundamental precepts of liberty and justice. Wishing to instill American nationalism in schoolchildren, a campaign ensued to provide flags to every school and establish the tradition of reciting the pledge; this was all launched on Columbus Day, 400 years after the “discovery” of America. (quotations mine)
1923: “United States” was added and a year later, “of America.” It was changed so that immigrants would understand “my flag” to be the flag of the United States of America and not their homeland. Bellamy apparently did not like this change as "it did injure the rhythmic balance of the original composition." (Francis Bellamy. "A Brief Synopsis of the Story of the Origin of the Pledge taken from the Detailed Narrative by Francis Bellamy, Author of the Pledge". Congressional Record 91 Cong. Rec. (1945) House: 5510–5511.)
1942: Officially adopted by Congress as “The Pledge of Allegiance”
1954: Through the late 40’s and early 50’s, various fraternities and groups added “under God” leading to Eisenhower signing a bill into law adding these two words to the pledge. Some cite the influence of the Cold War and a movement against atheist communism inspiring the addition, and some attribute corporate America’s desire to equate capitalism and free enterprise as being divinely blessed. (Kevin M. Kruse (March 30, 2015). "How 'One Nation' Didn't Become 'Under God' Until The '50s Religious Revival". NPR.)