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The justice we pledge along with liberty is also a word that nearly defies
definition – as it seems that justice, like beauty, is in the eye of the behold-
er these days. One’s perception becomes one’s reality. Wikipedia defines
the word as “the legal or philosophical theory by which fairness is admin-
istered.” Justice, then, is only best served when it personally serves each
of us? Ho boy…this is getting wackier by the minute. Also, I don’t know
anyone that thinks life is necessarily “fair”! I begin to long for the stiflingly
chalky classrooms and the fierce penguin gazes, those sweet days when
reciting the Pledge of Allegiance was just a well-loved and comforting
memorization activity – at least until the air raid drills and under-desk div-
ing brought us face to face with the potential loss of the very liberty and
justice we pledged.
Maybe that’s why we seem to have collectively and individually lost
sight of the liberty and justice ideals. Each generation has its own set of
fears and anxieties. Baby boomers remember the air raid practices and
the threat of what lived behind the Iron Curtain. The previous generation
knew all too well the sacrifices and mortal wounds of World Wars I and II.
The threats facing the current generations seem to fluctuate in a constant
nightmare of terrorist acts, offset by a virtual reality of technological ad-
vances and the cocoon of “safe spaces”.
Though penned many years earlier, the title “Pledge of Allegiance”
was adopted by Congress in 1945. The words “under God” were official-
ly added on Flag Day in 1954, when Dwight Eisenhower was President
(and just after my joyous birth; yay me). Our flag, our pledge, and I, have
seen better days. We seem to have lost significance all over the place.
But we’re not done yet. Oh no. Not us…not by the old, gray hairs of our
double-chinned chins.
If you search “liberty and justice” on the internet, you’ll find, along with
definitions and photos and countless opinions, a few references to two
bald eagles with the same names – Liberty and Justice. They have lived
110 feet up an oak tree on the grounds of the Washington DC Metro-
politan Police Department (how did they choose to build there?) for 11
years. Their nesting habits can be viewed via www.eaglecam.org. Based
on what I have observed, they are not particularly interested in liberty or
justice – they seem to prefer mating, nesting, and producing offspring. Oh,
and fresh-caught fish.
Now I can’t help but wonder what our Pledge of Allegiance would
have sounded like had Benjamin Franklin gotten his way and we had the
wild turkey as our national bird instead of those bald eagles? I’m guessing
we’d be eating a lot more chicken at Thanksgiving. But considering our
cultural, political, and moral struggles these days with liberty and justice,
the turkey somehow seems much more representative of us. Then again,
maybe that’s just me. When all this deep thinking becomes too much for
me (after about 7 minutes), I rely instead on the liberty and justice of His
Word, especially II Corinthians 4:16-18.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is per-
ishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are
seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen
are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
SHEMAGAZINE.COM
AUGUST 2017
73