I Pledge No Allegiance
I pledge allegiance to no flag,
nor to any country or being.
There is no republic to which I belong,
Oneness, in nature,
Kneeling to no god,
Free soul, Indomitable spirit,
Light and peace, to all.
The Pledge of Allegiance. We, as Americans, are taught it at an early age and are expected to stand for it as well as the National Anthem. Why? Why would we pledge our allegiance to a flag? A flag is a symbol. A representation. An ideal?
An allegiance to a flag means exactly what? Does anyone really listen and understand what a "Pledge of Allegiance" is? What it stands for?
With President's Day and Lincolns birthday upon us I think it is appropriate share my take on what an allegiance is to me.
Months ago, a pledge was made for the good of planet Earth. Yvon Chouinard, legendary rock climber and founder of the brand "Patagonia", gave away (yes, you heard that right) his rights to his $3 Billion company. He transferred ownership rights to a specifically designed non-profit and trust. He stands first in line as someone with means, exposure and leadership to start fighting against climate change and making the natural world a better place. His allegiance is to the earth.
That right there. Chouinard holds no allegiance to a flag, a leader or a country. His loyalties lay elsewhere. His loyalty lays with the trees, rocks, sacred waters, air, sky, mountains and creatures which inhabit these spaces. I couldn't agree with him more.
Am I privileged to live in this country? The good old U.S. of A? Yes. Yes, I am. Our freedoms and opportunities make this place a country where dreams can come true if enough effort is applied. That said, those said freedoms are no reason to pledge an allegiance to it's flag or to the country as a whole.
There was a State of the Union Address to Congress and the Nation last night. I didn't watch it and almost never do. Reading about it today makes me sad. The supposed leaders of this Nation cat-call, insult and outright slander each other in front of millions of its citizens and yet, we are supposed to hold an allegiance to them and their governing? Makes you question why we blindly pledge allegiance to something. Or, it should make you question it.
It has been a long time since I have held my hand over my heart for the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and it likely will never happen again. I still stand up, respectfully, while others do what they feel is right for them and hold zero judgment or disdain. Do I hate this country? Not at all. I disagree with some laws, priorities within the governance structure and how those people chosen to represent the populations within their local communities so often fail to do so in a meaningful way. Far to often, polarization and power hungry people who lose their way and forget their oaths fail the everyday citizen and what their true needs are. Clean water, safe food, a warm place to lay their heads and confidence in elected officials to do the right thing for the common person and for nature.
Nature. Now there is a place I find allegiance too. The Healing Earth around us all.
If you have read any past blogs you know I have a bit of a hippy soul and nature centered heart. I don't find peace in city streets, amongst tall buildings or in shopping malls loaded with ignorant zombies buying designer labels and driving depreciable assets which far exceed their means. A snotty way to look at some folks? Probably. We all have our shortcomings I suppose. I know I have many.
I find allegiance to the tiny Bristlecone Pine growing in harsh, dolomitic soil miles above sea level. I find allegiance to the ling cod laying motionless on a reef waiting for its next meal to swim by. I find allegiance to Peregrine Falcons trying to find nesting areas suitable for their broods high above the valley below. I find allegiance to the creatures escaping forest fires started by ignorant humans whether they are from unethical power companies (this is YOU, Pacific Gas and Electric) or fools who feel the need for a campfire in the wild. I find allegiance in the wind which bites with bitter cold as I approach a summit. I find allegiance to trees, fish, wildflowers, birds, mountain summits, desert oasis', polar ice caps and so much more.
I have never understood why Olympians cry as they stand atop platforms watching colored cloth being raised. I hold that same view and sense of confusion as I see Mountaineer's place the same colored cloth of their homelands on the tops of earths highest peaks. Why? Are they claiming something? Are they honoring the misdeeds wrought by that country (and yes, every country has its share of hugely negative things it has done to humanity; but also, most have contributed positively as well, which I do not ignore)? Everyone has their own "thing" as they celebrate a successful ascent or accomplishment and I don't look down on that, rather, I choose to wonder instead. For those who wonder, yes, I get my Buddhist Prayer Flags out for summits and say a blessing intended for all sentient beings who walk this earth. Not a prayer of conversion, but one truly meant to bring peace, love and happiness to all who walk here. To honor our earth and show love to all its beings. I place my flags there as a way to say thank you to this earth and all of its beings in it. To honor everyone and everything. My allegiance to Mother Earth and all her creations.
I show allegiance to this planet we inhabit. The conservationists in whose footsteps I attempt to trod are there with me in every piece of trail trash, every discarded bottle I find underwater, every piece of litter on a sidewalk and illegal campfire ring I destroy in the back country (while bringing back to nature the place where the fire was set). This earth, not its countries, gods or its monies, deserves our allegiance. The people I respect and admire have done so much to shine their light on conservation. People like John Audubon, Jacques Cousteau, John Muir and Henry David Thoreau. People passionate about this earth and taking an allegiance to protect it.
Each and every time before a hike or a SCUBA dive, I take a moment and offer a small gift (usually sage or rice, but I have offered tobacco as well) while asking for safe passage. It's another of my own "Pledge of Allegiance" to the natural world and all the healing we find by being in it. It goes a little something like this:
Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Spirits and Guardians of the Mountains/forests/waters, I humbly come to you looking for renewal and cleansing. I offer to you, this gift and my promise that I will honor this land/water while I walk/swim through it. Please protect me and grant me safe passage to and from my destination and allow all other travelers the same safe passage. Thank you for your presence here. I bow to you in reverence. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum.
A simple honoring of what does not belong to me. Something which I enjoy and am a part of and pledge an allegiance of sorts to keep the spaces wild, protected and honored as a true allegiance should.
My heart, soul and spirit are for all of natures good. My conservation minded mentality serves this whole earth; from its mountain tops to its ocean floors. This giant blue planet has my allegiance. The flag of Earth is where my loyalties lie.
Om Mani Padme Hum. I send blessings to you all. May Lung-ta, the Wind Horse, carry them, swiftly, to you and to all sentient beings throughout this earth. May you take a moment to touch trees and truly know them, place your hands in our sacred waters, touch that water to your face and ask those waters to heal you, feel the wind in your hair and be thankful for the breath it gives and place your toes into the soil and give thanks for the plants it produces which nourish and ground us.
"Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures, kill nothing but time."
Namaste, friends.
