Closer to the heart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellamy_salute
I've learned today that from 1892 to 1942 the US Pledge of Allegiance was accompanied with a Roman salute. It was changed to a hand over one's heart only in the middle of WWII, when America began to fight the Nazi. That's quite a change in perspective: instead of adoration of a flag, a solemn promise to oneself...