Why not a Global Pledge of Allegiance?

A lot of my colleagues complain about having to grade student papers. I suppose I sometimes fall into that trap, but often I read papers by students that are brilliant. Tonight was one of those nights. We have been discussing the possibilities of a global civil society, and the students were assigned to read Mary Kaldor's book, Global Civil Society. One of my students wrote a line in her paper, mimicking the United States pledge of allegiance, asking why not?: "I pledge allegiance to the world." This prompted the following from myself:

I pledge allegiance to the citizens of the world, and to the Republic of hearts and minds, prayers and tears, life and death to which we ALL belong, one people, the children of God, indivisible, with liberty, love, and justice for all.

How about it? Something wrong with the idea? Are the ties of nationalism outdated? Isn't it time to look for a Republic of Conscience? To carry our own burdens? To recognize our origins in salt and tears? To recognize our dual citizenship? Why not a pledge of allegiance to our humanity, our dependence, our weakness? I love my country, don't get me wrong, but I love other countries too. "My heart is large enough for all men," said Joseph Smith, and I feel much the same way today. Who can separate us?


P.S. Bonus quote: "What we seek is . . . to improve the quality of human life while at the same time respecting the natural environment which sustains it: Not a heaven on earth but a better earth on earth." - Paul Wellstone