My thoughts on the pledge of allegiance

[saveliberty]

I'm sure you would, because you're striking me in this thread as rather selfish and immature. However, OTHER people - known as "grownups" - recognize that there are bigger things than themselves, more important goals than just their own gratification, and higher principles than self-absorbed navel-gazing. Therefore, we are willing to swear loyalty to something that embodies those ideals.

Those are all wonderful and I prefer to find things bigger than myself to serve in the private sphere such as religion, family, and etc but when did government become something we had to put aside our own pursuits for its. I'm sorry but government is not something bigger than ourselves like God but is something that serves our purpose only.

It's not a matter of "where you prefer to find it". It is where it is, and it seems to me that your "bigger things in personal realms" is really just another way of being selfish and self-absorbed. Even your bigger things are still all about you.

Second of all, you're now officially pissing me off with this deliberately obtuse continuation of "It's about the government". Since you have had multiple people, including me, explain to you what you clearly don't have the basic English mastery to figure out from the words - that the pledge has nothing whatsoever to do with the government - I can only assume at this point that you are either a) too pig-stupid to be worth talking to, or b) determined to think what you want to think in the face of all evidence because it justifies being an immature me-monkey forever. Either way, you are now beneath my notice on this subject. Carry on ranting about nothing.

Seems to me the key word in the first bold section is serve. Serving denotes puting others needs ahead of your own. God is another word that is triggering a poor response from you. In a church you are usually subjecting yourself to the authority of God. Being under the authority of another is usually not considered self-absorbed or selfish.

The pledge is nothing but an oath to the government (republic). You can find it right in the beginning.

 

[ayiakri]

Compared to the right-wingers here, I'm definitely liberal, but also support the Pledge of Allegiance, although I also (like another poster above) think the words, "under God" should be taken out.

My father graduated from school before the Knights of Columbus managed to get the "under God" bit added to the pledge, and he's a lot more religious than I am, so having a specific reference to a monotheistic religion is doing nothing more than annoying the parents of children from Hindu, Buddhist, or non-religious homes.

But aside from that 1950s "edit", I think having children learn to associate the flag, and the republic, with worthy ideals. I originally joined the Army partly out of the feeling that everyone who gets the benefit of living in a Democracy ought to find a way to serve it.

While I would definitely speak my mind to any a$$hole who I saw burning the flag as some way to protest it, I also acknowledge that the freedoms that flag represent include the right to burn it. As somebody else said, I have my own right to tell them what I think about it.

It's a bit pathetic that some of the self-styled conservatives here repeat this mantra that "liberals hate America". My father fought in Korea, I served for four years in an infantry division, and both my brothers served (one for 12 years in the Navy, much of it spent underwater), yet none of us is an uber-conservative.

Accusations of "anti-Americanism", or the kind of shrill and ridiculous hyperbole by extremists on the right (like Ann Coulter declaring that Democrats are, by definition, "traitors", and guilty of "treason", despite her lack of service in any way, ever) are even more dangerous and counter-productive than the cries by the far-left that Bush was a "dictator", etc. The far-left has mainly gone after specific Republicans who were exercising power in some way. The far-right, on the other hand, seems to "go after" anybody that disagrees with them, and to view them as "the enemy", anti-American, and so on.

Anyway - I so rarely see an American flag these days (I'm working outside the U.S. until next year), or hear the pledge at all. Got a bit off topic there, I guess my coffee is wearing off!

 

[JW Frogen]

When I was a small kid I used to try to steal the sling shots and marbles out of other kids pockets during the Pledge of Alligence.

 

[JW Frogen]

It was highly erotic in an Cookie Monster kinda way.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Those are all wonderful and I prefer to find things bigger than myself to serve in the private sphere such as religion, family, and etc but when did government become something we had to put aside our own pursuits for its. I'm sorry but government is not something bigger than ourselves like God but is something that serves our purpose only.

It's not a matter of "where you prefer to find it". It is where it is, and it seems to me that your "bigger things in personal realms" is really just another way of being selfish and self-absorbed. Even your bigger things are still all about you.

Second of all, you're now officially pissing me off with this deliberately obtuse continuation of "It's about the government". Since you have had multiple people, including me, explain to you what you clearly don't have the basic English mastery to figure out from the words - that the pledge has nothing whatsoever to do with the government - I can only assume at this point that you are either a) too pig-stupid to be worth talking to, or b) determined to think what you want to think in the face of all evidence because it justifies being an immature me-monkey forever. Either way, you are now beneath my notice on this subject. Carry on ranting about nothing.

Seems to me the key word in the first bold section is serve. Serving denotes puting others needs ahead of your own. God is another word that is triggering a poor response from you. In a church you are usually subjecting yourself to the authority of God. Being under the authority of another is usually not considered self-absorbed or selfish.

The pledge is nothing but an oath to the government (republic). You can find it right in the beginning.

Sorry, Noah Webster, but the republic is the country, not the government. It's called "reading for context". You should both try it sometime.

I pledge allegiance to the flag OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (the country, numbskulls), and to THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS (and we just were told in the previous line that it's the flag of the United States of America, so . . .), one NATION (not a government, a nation), under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. (Hey, there's that liberty and justice he was so hot to pledge to, until he decided he was a better candidate for allegiance)

Dumbasses.

 

[bodecea]

None of us makes pledges to the state or city governments. There is not even a pledge for our own states but the federal government has its own pledge.

I also think a lot of liberals will be cheering because there is a fellow USA hater but that is not the case.

The lack of pledge for States and the word Indivisible are the hidden propaganda in the pledge of allegiance. I would expect liberals to be all about the pledge as it deters the people of the states from considering secession, but you are right the liberals do no support the pledge of allegiance.
Liberals don't Hate the US; they have a vision which is fr different from the conservatives. Conservatives tend outnumber liberals in any society which is prosperous. So some liberals may secretly wish for the US to be less prosperous to get more numbers to their banner. Look how well the carefully timed "release" of the banking collapse information worked in turning the 08 election around.

True, but the problem is Conservatives don't want change...in order to REMAIN prosperous, society must continue to change and grow. AND no society is perfect as it. Many talk about the wonderful times in the 50s and 60s....not to women, not to blacks, not to hispanics, not to handicapped, not to non-Christians.