The Pledge of Allegiance has taken it on the chin over the years. Everything from the clause "one nation under God" to its recitation in public schools and public meetings has been challenged. This week, El Cerrito City Councilman Mark Friedman proposed eliminating the custom from the start of each council meeting. "I've always had problems with the Pledge of Allegiance," said Friedman, whose politics were shaped in the fiery days of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in his hometown, Chicago. In his argument to end the custom, Friedman said that in a world without "liberty and justice for all,"...