The pledge itself is meaningless because it's swearing an oath to be loyal to one country above all others, made by little kids who know nothing of world affairs, have no understanding of political events HERE, and in most cases have never even been to another country, much less lived there. IOW, they can't make an informed choice. It's like making a bunch of eight year olds say marriage vows to somebody they haven't even met.
Everybody's OK with that because it doesn't mean anything, anyway. Like CPD said, it's just another bullshit part of school. You just have to SAY it, not mean it or understand the implications. It sends a really bullshit message to kids about giving their word (with hand over heart) but nobody seems to give a fuck about that.
"SAY THE SHIT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO MEAN IT, JUST SAY IT OR ELSE."