First of all, all of the reason we pledge allegiance to the flag is because it used to be required that people would have to pledge allegiance to a king. In our country, the last king we pledged allegiance to was King George. It is not that you are worshiping the flag, instead it is a sign that we are free and have our liberty to elect our leaders. If you don't want to say the part about "under God" there is no one with a gun pointing to your head to force you to do it. Instead, consider the fact that the term "under God" was put into the pledge as reaction to the Communists in Russia during the cold war, who restricted religous beliefs and freedom of religion. Also, if you consider the marines who died in Imo Jima trying to raise the flag, saying the pledge is a small way to say thank you to these men. These men died so we don't have to worship the Emperor of Japan, who would have been our dictator/emperor if we would have lost World War II. Many millions of men have died for our country in battle defending our flag against our enemies. Most recenlty, our flag was raised in the rubble of the twin towers after the 911 attacks. If you get so caught up in trying to make it a religous matter and not consider that it stands for our freedoms (wether you believe in religion or not it doesn't matter it's a group package). Look at the history of our country and do not defile the flag ever, there has been too much blood spilt for it.
Edit: 1,043,110 soldiers have died protecting our freedom. Countless others have risked their lives, suffered great wounds and their minds for our country.
