I got into a discussion over Facebook that has stayed civil (for now) over the Pledge of Allegiance. Since, to steal a line from Tam, I hate using good material at an away game, I'll share my thoughts here.
I personally feel that the 'under God' clause at this point ought to be removed, even if for no other reason than the fractious nature of the debate. For those who object to that clause, I have no problem with them forgoing that phrase. While this country is founded on a great many religious principles, adherence is expected to the principles, not to the religion.
The real problem here is that the American people doesn't exist anymore. We have a great many people who live in the USA, but truly don't hold any allegiance to it. Do I think they should be afforded the privileges of citizenship? Absolutely not. There's a reason that the Pledge is part of the naturalization procedure.
Let's actually break it down a little. It's a remarkable oath.
"I pledge allegiance" This is important. A pledge is an act of putting your honor on the line. Allegiance is not obedience. Allegiance is an alignment of will. You stake your honor on aligning yourself with what's to come.
"To the flag of the United States of America" Also important. This does not say "to the government of the USA". Governments are made of people, and are therefore fallible. The flag is a symbol, as expanded in the next part.
"And to the republic for which it stands" Not just a governmental system, but THIS republic, and the philosophies and ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution. There's a lot wrapped up in that little statement.
"One nation" Here's where it falls apart today. According to Wikipedia, "A nation is a large group of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, or history." We don't have that today. The immigrant nature of the American people means that ethnicity, descent and history can't be sources of our nation. Instead it is the American culture and the english language (YES I will take flak for this but it's the language of the land de facto if not de jure) that can give unity. Both have been rejected.
Allegiance to the one nation means a sense of unity with the other people of America. It means casting aside other identities and calling yourself an American, and knowing what that means.
"Under God" I would not expect someone who didn't believe in God to stake their honor on God. This phrase was added much later than everything else and really should be stricken. It is divisive, which is interesting considering...
"Indivisible" This again is One Nation. I won't reiterate.
"With Liberty and Justice for All" Foundational principles to the United States. Note, not liberty and justice for Citizens, or "the right folk", All. Again, an unpopular thing today, whether or not people want to admit it.
This oath is not about obedience to a group of people. It is about allegiance to principles. I think the misunderstanding of what this oath IS has contributed a lot to its lack of popularity. It's almost subversive in its nature, since no obedience is owed the government, merely the principles. Indeed, it is an obligation on your honor to act to keep the government in line with these principles.
Thank you for your comments. The pledge is even worse than your criticisms. You overlook the fact that it involves unified robotic chanting in government schools (socialist schools) on cue daily for tiny children for 12 years of their lives. It completely contradicts any concepts of "freedom."
ReplyDeleteNo one should stand for nor chant the Pledge of Allegiance because it was the origin of the Nazi salute and Nazi behavior (that is one of the amazing discoveries of the historian Dr. Rex Curry, as described by the author Ian Tinny in the book "Pledge of Allegiance and Swastika Secrets").
The pledge was written by an American socialist who influenced other socialists worldwide, including German socialists (Hitler), who used the U.S.'s stiff-armed gesture under their flag's notorious symbol (their symbol was used to represent crossed "S" letters for their "socialist" dogma -another of Dr. Curry's discoveries).
Hitler's symbol was a type of cross, a "Hakenkreuz" (hooked cross); he did not call it a "swastika." The misnomer "swastika" was used (and continues to be used) to cover up Nazism's origin in American Christian Socialism, via Francis Bellamy and his cousin Edward Bellamy (author of "Looking Backward" -the origin of the National Socialist movement).
The original pledge began with a military salute that was then extended outward to point at the flag (thus the stiff-arm gesture came from the pledge and from the military salute). In practice the second gesture was performed palm-down (the classic Nazi gesture, adopted by Hitler later), not palm up, and photos and film footage show that children would simply point the original military salute at the flag.
People who only complain about two words in the pledge are strange and are missing the point.
The pledge continues to be the source of Nazi behavior, and that Nazi-style behavior was displayed by the Mayor of Winter Garden, Florida (John Rees) who had a cop expel a man from a city council meeting because the man did not stand for the pledge. No one should stand for nor chant the Pledge of Allegiance. End the pledge.