The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by the Rev. Francis Bellamy to mark the 400th anniversary of the voyage of Christopher Columbus, and at that time, it didn’t contain the words 'under God.'

In a strange way, the only manner in which we can approach the governments of red states like Tennessee, so dominated by religious values, is to come at them with more religious values. It is a way of reclaiming religion for the left, using it to create change and equality, things that, at their core, many religions actually value.

Support for mandatory Pledge recitation has dropped – it stood at 77 percent as recently as 2008 – but it’s discouraging that after all this time, many Americans still don’t grasp a simple fact: forced patriotism, like forced prayer, is an oxymoron.