Those are the famed concluding words of the Pledge of Allegiance that every American has recited from their grade-school days. But one New Hampshire Democrat decided to alter the words last week — suggesting that justice does not actually exist in America.
During a New Hampshire executive council meeting last Wednesday, Democrat Debora Pignatelli, executive councilwoman for District 5, said at the end of the pledge, “… with liberty and justice for some,” WMUR-TV reported.
Her reason? She claims the coronavirus pandemic has revealed glaring injustices in America.
“I don’t say it all the time, but it has been clear to me since this coronavirus has started that we need to make some more progress if we’re going to call ourselves a country with liberty and justice for all,” she told WMUR.
“The coronavirus has pointed out and made it clear that we are not a country where everyone is considered equal, and we have a lot more work to do to make this country a place where liberty and justice can live up to its promise,” she explained. “This pandemic has shone a bright light for me about the inequities in our country. That’s what this is about. Nothing more.”
Gov. Chris Sununu (R) and the other four council members — two Republicans and two Democrats — recited the pledge correctly.
Not surprisingly, Pignatelli’s edit did not sit well with Republicans.
New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Steve Stepanek condemned Pignatelli as “disgraceful” and told her she needs to apologize.
In response, Pignatelli said she did not mean disrespect by changing the words, and reiterated her belief that the “COVID-19 pandemic has shown a bright light on the inequities in our society.”
“We have always known about the unfairness in the way some people are treated but now it is crystal clear. We surely have much work to do to make it a more fair society, don’t you agree?” she wrote in an email.
*story by The Blaze