(somewhat of a preface) 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.

As I think about the Pledge of Allegiance, our nation’s history comes to mind. I am reminded of the many ways that God has blessed America. I think of the First Amendment – Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. I think of the 4th Amendment – Search and Seizure. I am also reminded of Amendment 13 – Slavery Abolished, Amendment 14 – Citizenship Rights, and Amendment 19 – Women’s Suffrage.
I consider the lives of countless soldiers, who made the ultimate sacrifice, fighting for the freedom of this great country. And then reality sets in. I see the annual Bible giveaway being banned in the Collier County School District in Florida. I see the terms “Father and Mother” being banned in California schools because students with gender identification issues may be offended. I also see birth control being given to 11–13 year olds in Maine middle schools. And, to top it off, if parents ask about any type of treatment being given to their pre-teen, by law, the school cannot inform them. Yet we allow songs like “If You Seek Amy”, a song with an extreme subliminal sexual message by Britney Spears, or “I Kissed A Girl,” by Katy Perry, to be on students’ iPods. We allow school dances that consist of so much impurity; I can’t even mention the details in this article. And we encourage school cheerleading squads and dance teams to be so graphic in their performance and dress that they would be blurred out if shown on MTV.

I am stopped in my tracks and experience what seems to be a slap in the face. Our God, the creator of the universe, and His ways are being thrown out of the schools on all levels. We have been witnessing these types of anti-God adjustments for a number of decades. But we have been so concerned about being politically correct that we have forsaken the values upon which America was founded and established. Then we wonder why 40-50 percent of marriages in America end in divorce. We wonder why 820,000 babies are born to teenagers each year in the United States. And we continue to ignore the fact that the average age of first alcohol use is twelve, and the average age of first drug use is thirteen.

It is time for us to step up and put aside our worries about offending people by teaching a lifestyle of separation from the filth our society is promoting. Christians shouldn’t force a religion on people, but rather a refreshing stance on righteous living. We should refute music, movies, and any other type of communication that would cause our minds to be consumed by the negativity that our world offers today. We should be rebelling against the expectation of sexual, alcohol and drug addictions that the world media is telling us we must be a part of. Is God out of America? Some people would like to say so. But true Christians across the US (perhaps we could switch this to, “But the youth of the UPCI are serving…”) are serving notice to the powers of darkness. We have just begun to fight! Hope for America and the next generation is here!