THE FREEDOM PLEDGE

I am an American. A free American.
Free to speak—without fear
Free to worship God in my own way
Free to stand for what I think right
Free to oppose what I think wrong
Free to choose those who govern my country
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold
For myself and all mankind.

This was not a pledge of allegiance or a loyalty oath. It proclaimed the autonomy of individual citizens to stand for their idea of the right and to fight what they thought wrong. It was not about "my country, right or wrong," but the very opposite. The American generation that emerged from the Second World War had a larger idea of their country and themselves. Most of all, they were invited to unite in an idea of freedom as civic responsibility.

(excerpt from the book Liberty and Freedom by David Hackett Fischer, page 573, Oxford University Press 2005)