Pledge Of Allegiance

yea i dont say it or anything i stay seated we have more freedom then some other countries but are misssing alot to say we have freedom id rather not live in this country and i dont believe in god.

 

I remember in school I stood up like a mindless sheep and said the Pledge. Now that I think back I wish I hadn't. Wow, I've changed a lot since then.

 

i havent said the pledge sense 5th grade and i dont plan to ever again.

first off, it has no basis in reality.gays cant get married legally in all 50 states for one example of inequality. the country is also more devided than it has been in a long time.

im not going to say such an insulting statement. to do is to put yourself right up there with bush and to spit in the face of lady liberty.

 

I grew up repeating the words everyday in school right after first bell , and like everything else that is done all the time , out of routine , Just because i said the words DIDNT mean I was actually taking an oath.
Truthfully , I never really gave the words much thought till I read this thread....So , My Thanks to the poster for making me stop and think !

 

Interesting topic to resurrect.

To me, The Pledge is a form a prayer really. I NEVER recite The Pledge, much as I never pray when the option presents itself. What does that say about me? That I'm anti-dogmatic. I was born into Catholicism as I was born in this country. Neither a choice I made, and given my druthers a condition I would reverse. I've reversed the indoctrination into Catholicism, and if I had the means I would probably find somewhere else to live.

I'm no patriot, nor a believer in American Exceptionalism. American society is sick, with no cure in sight. The body politic is at best disinterested in the direction we are heading, at worst an active participant. Corporate America pumps us full of messages to consume, as they redirect our gaze from the crimes they commit to silly celebrity worship. Religion asks us to worry not about the tribulations of this world, for surely we will be rewarded in the next life. The meek shall inherit the Earth, but what will be left of it once the powerful have had their way? A scared, lifeless wasteland...

No, no Pledge for me. No national anthem, no God Bless America.

Sorry, off on a rant there.

 

I never did the pledge in school, even in 2nd grade. It's the biggest fucking waste of time..

The sad thing is, it was a major school rule so most kids would do it. It's fucking wrong to make someone take pledge to a certain country or government without asking permission to pledge to their own country or territory of choice. It's disgracing the right to free speech. If I want to take pledge to Iraq(thought I wouldn't), China, or Canada, let me do so. Don't criticize another person's customs just because you can't get it through your thick skull that everyone doesn't always support America.

The school board pisses me off man, shit like that needs to change.

 

Another 3-year-old thread bumped into my view. Interesting subject to me since it was the only social issue/rebellion I instigated in high school. And, even as this poster said in 2007 when she was 18:

Well Julie lived in Texas, what could she expect. Not the most progressive place on the planet. But, I went to school in St. Louis County Mo. Still one of our teachers was an All-American, football playing Army Reservist with crew cut and thick neck, which had bulging veins popping out when he was in my skinny face on this issue.

But, I never got any kind of detention or reprimand. I think most of the staff actually believed in American values of free-speech and conscientious objecting. Especially since I was identifying as an Athiest in my teens and that cold war era insertion of "under god" really pissed me.

So a group of about five of us formed the Association of Secret Students and made theater of sitting out the pledge or even using the Nazi salute (which I now find out was appropriate). We sent petitions to our student council complaining that we did not even have a flag in the classroom while making the pledge.

Did my own pledge for that one:

"I Pledge Allegiance to the Wall of Ritenour High School and to the foundation on which it stands, one building under roof, indivisible with strength and barrier for all."

They didn't stop the rote recitations but they did get paper pix of flags in each classroom.

I have followed the news of this same protest over the last half century. The pledge of allegiance may be the best lesson in civics - to express your displeasure of rote recitals of a meaningless piece of child indoctrination. Maybe that's why I got a pass from the more liberal teachers in my midwest school.

BTW, I still refuse to say it. I will stand if in a meeting where some do-gooder decides it should be recited (such as PTA at my daughter's school) but my arms at my side mouth closed and fists clenched, hoping someone will ask me why.

 

In my english class last year there were a few of us that didn't want to say the pledge for whatever reason. for some it was religion, personnal beliefs, whatever. Our teacher was ridiculous about it. we would be sitting there quitely and she would yell at us IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PLEDGE to stand up and be respectful. so whoever she was looking at would stand...then when she looked at someone else, that person would stand and the other would sit back down. it was a lot of fun and made the point to the other students.

 

Yesterday my mother was discussing how they make kids in school say the Pledge. And I said I wouldn't do it again if they made me. And she said I'd have to either support your country or leave.... I would have replied but that would have turned into an argument I would have lost... Blah blah blah...


But i just think that is a bunch of bullshit.

 

The last time I was in a place where the pledge was said, I sat down and finished my lunch while everyone else stood. I'm not even in the States anymore-shows how patriotic I am. I voted with my feet-and I've never regretted it.

 

Personally, I don't think it's unreasonable to stand respectfully during the national anthem or during the pledge of allegiance. That doesn't mean you have to partake in it yourself. If I was in another country, I'd be respectful of their national anthem. Doesn't mean I'm pledging "allegiance" to their flag.

On a somewhat related issue ...

How did it ever get started singing "God Bless America" at sporting events? Or the flyovers of military jets? What on earth do these things have to do with sports?

 

Jocks are more patriotic than normal ppl.

And they sing God Bless America because no one can sing the national anthem.

 

Hey, who are you calling "normal"????? :sunny:

 

i do not support the pledge. Here is a pledge i could support:

i pledge allegiance to the people, environment and molecules of the Planet Earth and to the ideals for which they should stand, one people in Unity, unetangleable, with liberty, justice and true sovereignty of self for all.

 

I dunno. Freedom of Choice. If ya wanna say the Oath, fine. If not, fine.
All I ask is if they at least show some respect for America and her veterans by at least standing quietly, showing at least some reverence. If they don't want to do that, that's fine as well. Just a wish I have.

But when some kid that's stoned off his ass is walking around in front of people yelling at them for sayng the oath, calling them names, I'll draw the line right there. He can disagree all he wants, just don't attack those that have a different opinion than him.