Pledge allegiance to the world

In view of our little world being shrunk by transportation and communication, I offer a little piece of bombast to speak for a broader loyalty than to our nation, a nation divided by racial and economic differences.
 
Here we go: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United Nations and to the world for which it stands—One planet, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.  I promise to work toward that goal in any way I can for as long as I can.
 
Listen to the evening news and understand how totally related we all are to each other everywhere.  Some are more free than others, some much richer than others, but all are equally deserving of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, though happiness may not be the ultimate goal of existence.
 
I vastly prefer to think of myself as a citizen of the world at a time when the world is suffering from too many divisions, fears, ignorance, and war. If people want to put God into it, OK as long as they don’t try to claim Him exclusively. It cannot be said that He prefers one place over another.  He may even feel that the planet is getting too small

This article appears in Jul 23-30, 2009.