I pledge allegiance to the flag …

I heard those strange words for the first time at Riverside Elementary School in 1976, as a first-grader who had just moved to the United States with my family. I learned quickly how to say the words, but it took me much longer to learn what they mean. 

Like Jefferson, Franklin and Washington, I was born English but chose to become an American. I took US history in middle and high school, got a degree in history, and later taught American history to 8th- and 11th-graders. 

But though I knew the names and dates, nothing taught me to love my country like spending half my life outside of it, including 23 years as a US diplomat in Africa, Asia and Europe. The singularity of American freedom and opportunity is best proven through comparison. 

Like many other Americans who came here legally and became citizens, nothing rankles me more than seeing disrespect, ingratitude, and even homicidal violence from some who have been granted the opportunity to come here — or allowed to remain despite coming illegally. 

You’d figure the least they could do would be to obey our rules and respect our culture and values. 

Watching Columbia University and other supposed elite institutions become hotbeds of radical protest and support for antisemitism and terrorist violence has been painful. It’s bad enough when the ill-informed youth are home-grown, but when foreign students........

© New York Post