Americans, in time of such great tragedy, can be truly awe-inspiring in their unity and resolve. But is that enough? Is it enough to belt out the national anthem for a few days and then return to business as usual?

It never ceases to amaze me that, day after day, otherwise rational parents allow their impressionable young children to partake in a ritual so rooted in conformity that it seems inimical to the principles of freedom and individualism that underpin our country.

The next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance -- "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" -- remember: it's a lie. A whopper of a lie.

In trying to defend an ode to the nation's founding principles -- chief among them, freedom -- hundreds of angry citizens have openly defied those cherished values.

Would Romney have been so eager to recite the Pledge of Allegiance if he knew that it was written by a socialist, outraged by the nation's widening economic divide? Or if he knew "America the Beautiful," was written by a socialist, who was also a lesbian?

The flag, as a symbol of the nation, is not owned by the administration in power, but by the people. We battle over what it means, but all Americans -- across the political spectrum -- have an equal right to claim the flag as their own.

If Congress wants an America that knows what it stands for, where things get done and where civility actually matters, it will set the example by signing the Purple America Pledge.

Republicans may be trying to focus their messaging on jobs and the economy -- and hammering President Barack Obama for campaigning -- but they still h...