As long as our nation is not living up to the ideals that our flag is supposed to stand for, I can not say the pledge. We live in an America where there are those among us who can not access the liberty and justice that should be the right of every American. There are children in our country who can not grow up expecting the same rights as other children, solely because of the color of their skin. This is not the America my flag is supposed to stand for. I feel refusing to say the pledge is not an act of irreverence towards the flag. On the contrary, it is because I care so much about our flag, I can not say a false oath before it.