I "pledged allegiance" thousands of times from about age 5 on. Until about age 13 I didn't even think about, pledging allegiance constituted a ritual at the sta

I "pledged allegiance" thousands of times from about age 5 on. Until about age 13 I didn't even think about, pledging allegiance constituted a ritual at the start of a day of school, which was pretty ritualistic in and of itself. Even after I started to think about not saying the "Pledge of Allegiance" I decided that the cost was too high, by observing the Jehovah's Witness in the classroom who didn't say it. I think that after saying the pledge became a habit, it became a matter of saying it under duress. And the school authorities cooperated in promoting this. So, I personally regard that pledge as voided by the semi-official duress placed on my as a child by school authorities.