Due to lack of funds, students must pledge to televised flag

[matcom]

:eyes:

<snip>

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Students at Central High School have been watching TV during the Pledge of Allegiance, but no one's complaining.

Unable to buy enough real flags for the new school year, Central High has taken to showing an image of the American flag on classroom TVs while students make the pledge.

A new state law requires school children to say the pledge at least once a week, and the school simply doesn't have enough flags for that.

The problem originated five years ago when the high school was repainted and many flag holders were taken down, Principal Mary Mackbee said.

"It's very expensive to outfit a school like this with flags and flag holders," she said.

Other schools throughout the St. Paul and Minneapolis districts, already burdened with budget cuts, are struggling to provide enough flags.

http://www.boston.com/news/daily/15/odds_flag.htm

[disgruntella]

1. Sounds like a Bush education policy

"No Flag Left Behind"

I'd laugh if this didn't piss me off so much.... :mad:

[matcom]

2. i wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry

its sooo fucked up on just sooooo many levels

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. sounds like good budgeting to me

I'm British, so I've never pledged allegiance to anything in my life - I think I'd have to pledge allegiance to the Queen (and her successors) if I entered the military, parliament, and possibly the police, but not much more. But when these people do, they don't expect Elizabeth to be standing there in front of them, so why is it necessary to have a flag for the children? Once a school has all the teachers, books and classrooms it needs, then it can worry about window-dressing like flags. I can't see that situation occurring in any country's schools for a few years yet.

Also, why does a pledge need to be repeated? I'm sure there's no time limit mentioned in the wording. If the children don't realise that a pledge doesn't expire, then they're too young to be taking it. It also seems particularly pointless aiming this pledge at the one section of society with the least possible chance of switching their allegiance to anything else. Couldn't it wait until they're, say, 18?

[Kellanved]

7. me neither

But I've heard of several exchange students "forced" to say the pledge in the US, as their host-schools demanded it of all students.
:shrug:

[arwalden]

4. Flag Worshipers

They treat it like it was some sort of holy relic. A chalice, the Holy Grail itself. Just amazing.

[meegbear]

5. If they have to say it only once a week ...

why don't they do a "flag rotation"? Just a thought.

[BlueJazz]

6. Geez, the next step in this idiocy will....

....be to have commercials intertwined in the pledge.

"I pledge allegiance to the (buy Coke) Flag of the United States of
(Toyota camry) America and to the (Pop Tarts)......."



Mr.Bush Baud Man! He Vedy, Vedy Baud Man !!

[Hubert Flottz]

8. That flag is prolly made in Red China,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

By child slaves!

[Maeve]

9. In scouts, my boys were told to face the moon

If no flag was available, you can pledge facing the moon because of the flag the astroanuts left up there.

Seriously!! I'm not making this up!

[rock]

10. Wonder what the penalty is for breaking this law

- What'cha in here for Mac?
- Silently sitting, so watch it Buster!

[Iris]

11. If flags were that important, wouldn't they have replaced the flag holders

??

[Guaranteed]

12. Why do they even need a flag?

It's not like the thing's listening to them. They can still say the pledge and mean it without looking at it.

[Iris]

13. Are you advocating the use of imagination or some other form of

thinking? Like abstract or something?

You must be some kind of librul.