Shake

This past week I read an interesting opinion piece in the NY Post, by a British-born but now US-citizen journalist on an interesting take on the whole Pledge issue. He states that the Pledge was created at a time when immigrants from countries of many different cultures and religions were flocking to this fledgling nation. There was concern among citizens who had been here a while that some of these new immigrants might not be fully supportive of their new home. Thus they were asked to pledge their allegiance to their new home. He argues that the Pledge in 2002 is an outdated "relic" and should be discarded altogether. Basically, he says its crazy to have children (or anyone for that matter) be made to confirm their allegiance in this country by saying the Pledge. Children don't fully know what they're saying at a young age.

Now, I'm as patriotic as the next guy (ooo, look a patriotic atheist!), but if my having served my country as a military member for nearly 9 years, and being a good citizen (voting, paying taxes and whatnot) doesn't show my allegiance, I'm not sure what else would. My original take on the whole issue was to just revert to the pre-1954 version, removing "under God" since it is obviously divisive. Now however, I'm inclined to believe it's time to scrap this relic of the early days of the country.

Yes, and get rid of "In God We Trust" too. Someone once said, "A house divided cannot stand." Keeping "under God", and "In God We Trust" is obviously dividing the nation, and I think this is a perfect time to bring back the good ol' "E pluribus unum." "One, out of many" is far more unifying in these times.

chiron64

I'm with you Shake. Husbands and wives aren't required to renew their wedding vows every morning. Why must we (I'm a public school teacher) pledge daily allegiance to the country that is our home, as though we would foment armed rebellion if we didn't? Shouldn't the proof of citizenship be willingness to abide by the (just) laws and supporting the country by voting, paying taxes and, for some, serving in the military? Shouldn't we desire in our children not so much allegiance to a piece of cloth as a reverance for and a deep of understanding the Constitution and the Bill of Rights? Frankly, I wouldn't (and don't) say the pledge every morning even if removing "under god" were generally approved. It's an insult to my patriotism (for lack of a better word).

Abacus

But you see, reciting the pledge is so much easier than taking the time to come to a deep understanding of these documents. Plus, it looks good in front of the TV cameras.

Bree

My sentiments exactly. Having attended one of those schools where the pledge was recited daily, the words (which supposedly have deep meaning for some) just became routine. In fact, I believe we even had "other" words to insert when the teacher wasn't paying attention - something about Michael Jackson and Sprite, if I recall correctly.