The blah of allegiance -- Why the Pledge is irrelevant

[rawstory]

Full story on The Raw Story, http://www.rawstory.com

By Brian Dowell
RAW STORY COLUMNIST

, in their usual lethargy, the corporate media has gone mostly back to old standbys; the Iraq debacle, the Lakers getting stomped by a team full of nobodies, and the godforsaken Scott Peterson trial. Another story thrown into the media blender this Monday was that Supreme Court threw out a challenge to the “under God” portion of the Pledge of Allegiance. On it’s face, this story has “Fox News” written all over it; it’s easy to cast as a “Let’s scare the grandmothers of America with how the communists are trying to trying to scare the schoolchildren away from Jesus” juggernaut.

<snip>

I must say that this case does nothing to arouse any particular passion in me. Even though I am a doubting agnostic, I do acknowledge that a majority of Americans are believers in God, so mentions of His name don’t offend me. I don’t get offended and throw a hissy fit every time a sneeze of mine is greeted with a “God bless you” or when I hear a co-worker utter “Thank God my girlfriend decided to get that abortion.” I recognize that, whether I like it or not, during the average American day, whether I like it or not, God is going to get a fair share of shout outs.

Don’t get me wrong here. How far the separation of church and state goes and what role it is to play in the daily lives of our children is an important question, and one that our Supreme Court is eventually going to need to address. However, I’m not sure that this manufactured Pledge of Allegiance controversy is the best vehicle to use to arrive at that definitive answer.

It would seem that in the Age of Ashcroft, the ACLU should have bigger battles to fight than whining over two words of a thirty-one word pledge. That kind of nitpicking makes progressives seem, to the larger populace, slightly snotty. True, the words “under God” weren’t a part of the original pledge; they were added in the 50’s, as a lip servicing part of Joe McCarthy’s shameful crusade, which wasn’t exactly a beacon of Christian forgiveness.

<snip>

The Pledge also includes the dubious phrases “indivisible” and “with liberty and justice for all.” America is easily divisible. Any basic review of our history would show us that; everything from the Civil War to the Los Angeles riots to the 2000 elections..... John Edwards ran an almost-successful run for the Democratic nomination this year with the theme of there being “two Americas.”

That part of the pledge should be amended to “and liberty and justice for those that can afford it.”

...

Perhaps both the Michael Newdows of the world and the Christian “patriots” could stop conducting a silly skirmish about two words in a pledge and instead actually do something constructive to make the “liberty and justice for all” ring true — and thereby make America something truly worth our allegiance.

http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/dowell/blah_pledge_of_allegiance.htm

[teryang]

1. the new pledge

I pledge obeisance to the flag, of the centralized security state, and to the corporatists for which it stands, one world market, indivisible, with surveillance and oppression for all.

[eileen from OH]

2. Love it.

It zeroes in on something that has always bothered me about the pledge flap and flag burning, that is quite separate from the "God" issue.

The flag is a SYMBOL of our country. An important one, obviously, but it's a symbol, nonetheless. Can someone point me to a site that explains where and how this symbol somehow became more important than the values it is supposed to represent? Is this a common phenomenon in other countries?

eileen from OH

[Journeyman]

3. I prefer the "Patriots Digest" version of the pledge. . .

I pledge allegiance to liberty and justice for all.

[Cheswick2.0]

4. I don't care if they leave the words in or take them out

I think there are more important and the fundamentalist thinkers at each end of the argument are a pain in the ass.

[gumby]

5. rant

The Pledge is more than silly, and it is said by many more than just 6th graders. Congress opens every day with an official prayer and The Pledge. Congress started reciting The Pledge when they got into a smack-down (during the Gulf War?) about who was more patriotic.

Check it out. Few things look sillier than grown members of Congress acting like 6th graders. They put their hands over their hearts and pledge their allegiance to a piece of cloth. This from one of the most deliberative bodies in our country? These dolts have pledged an oath to uphold our Constitution, not a symbol.

The pledge is an exercise in dumbing down that starts from the top. A recent survey showed (again) that most people can’t even enumerate the freedoms granted by the 1st Amendment. But they sure know that Pledge all right. And you better not go ruining our country by taking God out of that Pledge because that is the foundation of this country.

Dumbing down on a large scale. Who needs to know all that pointy-headed elitist stuff in the Constitution when The Pledge is an instant patriotism fix?

Go to a meeting with your elected representatives and you will start the meeting with The Pledge. Most likely, your representative will continue the meeting by spouting so much unconstitutional garbage that your skin will crawl. But, hey, everyone’s been inoculated by The Pledge. Only patriots in that room.

The Pledge is a bait-and-switch. It is the useful idiot that takes the place of the Constitution and puts God in its place.

Oh, and try being the odd-man-out in a room where everyone else stands and puts their hand over their heart and mouths the pledge to a piece of cloth.

[dwilson]

6. This is why our party is accused of lacking patriotism. n/t

[gumby]

7. That's a joke, right?

hahahahaha...not

[coda]

8. Care to elaborate?

Shining a light on the ludicrous nature of faux patriotism pissing games and the hypocrites who promote them, is no more a cause to question one's patriotism, than are shredded US flags on thousands of automobile aerials a cause for a lump in the throat.

[rawstory]

9. huh?