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"And, in spite of the best efforts of many, instances of injustice have, are and probably always will occur. You're either with us or against us... HP, our Pledge of Allegiance is a pledge to uphold and submit to the rule of law."

HP, Please allow me to address this issue.

No one is suggesting that we do not owe allegiance to our country against a common foreign or domestic foe. But I urge you to use caution when adopting the attitude that the government or its leaders always know best and that their judgment should always be trusted over your own individual judgment. Those who do not learn the lessons of history will repeat its mistakes. The history of the 20th century, theoretically the most advanced intellectual century, is that any individual on the planet is more likely to be killed by his own government than by any foreign or domestic enemy. Let's look at a few thoughts and excerpts from the great minds of the past:

Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? WHy has every man a conscience then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right...The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies. They are the standing army, and the militia, jailers, constables, posse comitatus, etc. In most cases there is no free exercise whatever of the judgement or of the moral sense; but they put themselves on a level with wood and earth and stones; and wooden men can perhaps be manufactured that will serve the purpose as well. Such command no more respect than men of straw or a lump of dirt. They have the same sort of worth only as horses and dogs. Yet such as these even are commonly esteemed good citizens. Others--as most legislators, politicians, lawyers, ministers, and office-holders--serve the state chiefly with their heads; and, as the rarely make any moral distinctions, they are as likely to serve the devil, without intending it, as God. A very few--as heroes, patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense, and men--serve the state with their consciences also, and so necessarily resist it for the most part; and they are commonly treated as enemies by it. On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau http://www.afptn.org/civil.htm
Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law', because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual. -- Thomas Jefferson
There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. -- Ayn Rand in Atlas Shrugged
The general rule is that an unconstitutional statute, though having the form and name of law, is in reality no law, but is wholly void, and ineffective for any purpose; since unconstitutionality dates from the time of it's enactment, and not merely from the date of the decision so branding it. No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law, and no courts are bound to enforce it. -- 16 Am Jur 2d, Sec 177 late 2d, Sec 256
For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this. -- Albert Einstein
Power is the great evil with which we are contending. We have divided power between three branches of government and erected checks and balances to prevent abuse of power. However, where is the check on the power of the judiciary? If we fail to check the power of the judiciary, I predict that we will eventually live under judicial tyranny. -- Patrick Henry
Every actual state is corrupt. Good men must not obey laws too well. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Life, faculties, production -- in other words, individuality, liberty, property -- this is man. And in spite of the cunning of artful political leaders, these three gifts from God precede all human legislation, and are superior to it. Frederic Bastiat, The Law
The Judiciary of the United States is the subtle corps of sappers and miners constantly working under ground to undermine the foundations of our confederated fabric. -- Thomas Jefferson
Just as it is the duty of all men to obey just laws, so it is the duty of all men to disobey unjust laws -- Martin Luther King Jr.
The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure. -- Albert Einstein
Declaration of Constitutional Principles From http://www.constitution.org/consprin.htm
The natural rights of persons are inalienable, preceding the social contract and the constitution, and persons may not be deprived of them even with their consent, since they do not have the power to surrender those rights, and therefore do not have the power to delegate the deprivation of those rights to others...An unconstitutional statute is not a law, no matter how vigorously it may be enforced. Enforcement does not make what is enforced the law. What is enforced is a regime. In a constitutional republic, the law and the regime should coincide. If they do not, the regime is not law but anti-law...Whenever any person is confronted with a situation in which two or more official acts are in conflict, he has the duty to know which is the superior one, and to obey or help enforce the superior one, which, if one of them is the constitution, means to obey or help enforce the constitution. This duty cannot be delegated to another person: not to a superior, a court, or a legal advisor. It is not a defense that one was ignorant of the law or just doing one's job or following orders. This is sometimes called the Principle of Nuremberg.

I think a very powerful case can be made for doing what we know to be right regardless of the rule of law or any allegiances that result from our location. There are clearly settings where any patriot would lay down the life in the defense of country. But the idea that you can only be a partriot with the notion of my country- right or wrong is a very dangerous precept. Substituting rituals for carefully reasoned thought makes the path to tyranny easier. Understanding the history and principles of what made this country great makes genuine patriots and pledges are relegated to the tools of tyranny.

As a side, but somewhat related issue are oaths. I served at the time of the draft. I took the oath that all military officers take. In contrast, my son served since the all voluntary military. He took the same oath but at a different point in time. Without going into too many details, there could have been settings during my time of service in which I would not have laid down my life in the defense of my country. It is important to understand the distinction; the oath I took was not strictly voluntary. It carried with it the not so veiled threat of having to leave the country, serve or spend some time in jail. I can't speak for my son, but I have no doubt in my mind that he would have lived or died as a result of the oath that he took. There is no greater evil than an unjust government. It literally preys on the loyalties and allegiances of its people to do them harm. Rituals are no substitute for rational thought, maybe ever. I am sure that great military minds will counter that duty and obedience are the bedrock of combat. I have never been in combat and cannot say from experience. What I know is that rational thought is what sets man apart from animals. What do we become when we cease to think?