A comment I made while happily debating on line:
My concern is that the fix doesn’t hurt anyone. To remove “under god” doesn’t blaspheme god, doesn’t mean religious people are less devout. And it makes the statement of indivisibility more believable for people who can’t say, “Under God”
Yes, you have a right not to say the pledge.
Where is the national unity in saying, “You don’t want to play my way, go home” ?
Other person: Where is the Unity in starting it in the first place…
like I said why cant they just leave it alone… It hasnt been a problem this long… why now.
Me: Now? Now people aren’t afraid to speak up. People aren’t afraid that they’ll loose their jobs, or their children as easily as they did 50 years ago.You don’t remember the effects of McCarthyism. I only barely do. Some still live with the scars.
50 years ago, people lost their children if they were Gay. People lost their jobs if they were Jewish. People today have their houses burned if they are black, Doctors are killed because they commit an abortion. Why now, because people begin to no longer fear what they believe in. We as a people are growing up, like any other entity.
« My feelings about the pledge and other government officials The Pledge yet again…. »
Pledge of Ignorance
I’ve always found the whole concept of a pledge of allegiance rather insidious and disgusting.
As an American, my allegiance to this Nation is in my blood. This is my Fatherland. However, my allegiance to the government is dependent upon their ability to perform the tasks we have assigned to them with a minimal level of corruption and graft.
The whole purpose, it seems, of forcing school-children to recite a pledge is to instill a conditioned allegiance to “the flag” (non-bureaucrats read:”the government”) regardless of whether the things that government and country stand for are the same things that our Declaration of Independence, Constitution and founding fathers stood for.
A fair, efficient and caring government has nothing to worry about as far as allegiance is concerned. Our government, on the other hand… Hmm.
Re: Pledge of Ignorance
If I may:
Our “founding fathers” were a bunch of white, land/slave owning, upper-class, white men who sought to maintain a high standard of living for people just like themselves. They are not heroes or dignitaries worthy of 200 years of awe and respect. They just happened to be the first white men to set up camp here.
They beat thier wives (see “rule of thumb”), sent small children to do heavy farm work and had no problem with cheating native americans out of thier land and supplies. They later went on do demand that everyone worship “God” and hanged anyone who didn’t comply.
I realize this is a bit off point. Frankly this country is closer today to being a government by the people, and for the people than it has been at any other point in history.
As for the flag, it is a symbol which means different things to different people. It would be far more effective to explore with students what meanning the flag has for them. Verbatim regurgitation of the same tired paragraph does not teach anything really.
Re: Pledge of Ignorance
One of my Canadian friends has expressed the same disgust.
Being forced to recite it by rote (and I’m sure most of the people reciting it don’t really understand the words) does nothing to boost patriotism. It just creates a nation of sheeple who are afraid to think differently.
It’s better to earn loyalty than force it on children from a young age. It makes us no different than a society like Cuba where we expect to see forced patriotism.