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In light of the recent appeals court ruling in California, with respect to the Pledge of Allegiance, the following recollection from Senator John McCain is very appropriate:
 
'The Pledge of Allegiance' - by Senator John McCain
'As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room.
 
This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.

 One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian.
Mike came from a small town near Selma , Alabama . He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country and our military provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.

 As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing.

 Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of his shirt.
 
Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance.
 
I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.

 One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it.
 
That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could.
 
The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room.
 
As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag. He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.
 
So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world. You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country.'

 
Jay Leno wrote this; it's the Jay Leno we don't often see....

        & nbsp; As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I  ever been, but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and  it seems to hit the mark

    'The  other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll data I found rather hard to believe.  It must be true given the  source, right?

      The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with  the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is  unhappy with the performance of the President.  In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and  want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?''

A.. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours  a day,  7 Days a week?
B.. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning  in the summer and heating in the winter?

C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have  a job?

D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time  and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in  the last year?

E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean  without having to present identification papers as we move  through each state?

F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying  cuisine from  around the world is just not good enough either.

H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you  to the hospital.

I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who  own a home.

J.. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments  and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you,  your family, and your belongings.

K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped  with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents.  Neighborhoods where  90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen.  No wonder the world loves the U.S.  , yet has a great disdain for its citizens.  They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing  but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about  the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into  war and has no plan to get us out?   The president who has a measly  31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the  nation in the dark days after 9/11?   The president that cut taxes  to bring an economy out of recession?   Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all  the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?  The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out  there defending you and me?

Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the  good things and be glad?   Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is  it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.  Make no mistake about it.

The troops in Iraq  and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your  freedom.  There is currently no draft in this country.  They  didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discha rge after a  few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of  69 percent of Americans?

Say what you want but I blame it on the media.   If it  bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news.  Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts.  How many will watch kids selling  lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are  for-profit corporations.  They offer what sells, and when  criticized, try to defend their  actions by 'justifying' them in  one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like  O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if  he did he would have done it this way......Insane!

 
Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage.   Then start being grateful for all we have as country. There is  exponentially more good than bad.  We are among the most blessed  people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be  thankful and appreciative.'  'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out  of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the  country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and  terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of  the Pledge of Allegiance?'

        & nbsp;      Jay Leno