[splittereis]

У Юдковского вот, нашлось. Перевод если кому нужен - скажите, а так лениво.

The Lost Dream of Allegiance

The Lost Dream of Allegiance

When I was a child,
saying the Pledge of Allegiance,
I would always end,
under my breath:
"With freedom,
and justice,
for all except the children.”
Those days are now long gone,
and I can’t quite imagine,
a Pledge I could say today,
maybe something like this:
"I pledge conditional friendship,
not to any flag,
but to the ideals,
which the constitutional republic of the United States,
was originally formed to protect.
Thirteen nations,
bound together in mutual defense,
against huge Foreign Powers,
which could have crushed any state alone;
and unrestrained trade,
without tariffs imposed on riverboats;
with several freedoms and justices,
theoretically guaranteed to every citizen of that nation,
if they were one of the select,
a group which widened over time,
but never enough to include children.”
Those years are now long gone,
never to return,
for Time does not tick backward.
And I might say a kind word,
for the megademocracies of Now,
and the war they fought against Hitler,
in the years when some wars were just.
But that era also passed,
carrying with them the time
when an intelligent person
could pledge allegiance to a flag
and say it honestly and proudly
and not be foolish or evil.
Maybe that time ended with Guantanamo,
and maybe it never existed,
but I know I remember it,
from when I said the Pledge in class,
even if it was a dream.
That dream is gone,
and I can’t wish for its return,
for to see the blood upon the flag,
is a sign of understanding,
and I will not be the better
if I forget what I have learned.
With the passing of that small allegiance
has come a wider fealty
not to stars on a flag,
but to stars in a sky,
and my loyalty to them,
is not plagued by catches in my voice,
nor evils to unsee.
Even so,
knowing the flag was never clean,
and that nations are not worthy things
for human minds to give allegiance,
I miss the Pledge,
that childhood error,which must never return.