These words echo through Texas public schools: “Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas one and indivisible.”But there is no real meaning behind them.

It is simply a stanza uttered by students staring at a Lone Star flag in the corner of a classroom. It is a routine.

And, right now, Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, is trying to make an adjustment to this pledge by adding the phrase “state under God” to the short pledge.

In 1954, the United States added the classic rhetoric of “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. The catch was, at that point, the phrase was added by Sen. Joe McCarthy to help root out “godless communists.”

Today, students in public schools throughout Texas are facing this unnecessary change. Where is the logic behind such a change? What is the point of these three words being added to a pledge that has only been a mandated piece of prose in school since 2003? The reason given by Riddle’s chief of staff, Jon English, is so that the state pledge mirrors the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance.

If that is the case, then the state song, “Texas, Our Texas,” should discuss the “rocket’s red glare” while describing the Alamo and San Jacinto.

Representatives of the Texas American Civil Liberties Union have not taken a stance either way on this new integration of church and state. However, the Texas Pledge has been static without any need for change, and, if a representative wishes to adjust the pledge, Riddle can add in the bonus words on her own accord but not under the guise of House Bill 1034.

Then again, there is always the option of saying “one state, under the Red River and above Mexico,” but that may be too much of a mouthful for kindergarten students to muster.

Sports editor Marcus Murphree for the editorial board.