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So why do we pledge allegiance to a "republic" and not a "democracy"?
Well, you see, a republic presupposes the existence of virtue: virtue that is self-evident and endowed to us by our Creator as opposed to values that are self-centered and constructed by us and our culture.
A republic admits that there are "laws of nature" and there is a "nature's God."
We pledge allegiance to a republic because it is one nation under God and not one nation under man.
This is why Benjamin Franklin said he left us a "republic, if we could keep it."
This is why Alexander Hamilton said, "We are a Republic … real liberty is never found in despotism or in the extremes of Democracy."
This is why George Washington said a republic is the best form of government for securing and protecting "liberty and property [and]…happiness" for all mankind.
You see, implicit to a republic is the assumption of morality and virtue. Samuel Cooper, John Hancock's pastor, said, "Piety and virtue [are]… requisite in a free government…for where all power is derived from the people, all depends on their good disposition. If they are impious...all is lost." And Charles Carroll, signer of the Declaration, added, "Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time..."
So when you pledge allegiance to the republic, remember that your pledge assumes something bigger and more permanent than the selfish chants of a Wisconsin crowd or the self-centered power plays of a king and his minions in Washington. Remember that what you are pledging to only has value to the degree that we elect virtuous people to represent us and protect us from the selfish "values" of the rule of the gang or the arrogant opinions (and consequent tyranny) of one.