Reminds me of having to stand in a circle with all my classmates while one of us had the privilege of holding the national flag. We then in unison had to recite a pledge to that flag, the nation and god. just thinking about having to say the pledge of allegiance gives me chills.
There's some irony here. The flag and the pledge start off as symbols of obedience to established power, and then become symbols of revolt against shifts in power, but it seems to me that the obedience programming always wins.
Right now in the US, there are parallel "flag-waving" and "flag-burning" revolutions. There's no question that the flag-burners are winning the biggest shifts in established power, but the flag-wavers are predominantly the rank-and-file enforcers of the flag-burner policies.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
It’s a pointless, anodyne and unobjectionable pledge that prescribes nothing.
It’s stupid, but not remotely comparable to DEI statements, or commitment to much more specific political ideals.
I did not get the liberty to decline participating.
I am not religious so why should I pledge an oath to be ruled under a god.
I am forced to recite a daily mantra filled with propaganda for a republic which is more concerned about arguing for liberty and justice than it is actually providing liberty and justice.
Disregarding someone else's objection to forced speech and saying yours is more important isn't going to win a lot of people over. Just because you can't see why it's objectionable doesn't mean it isn't.
Yep. Had a flashback to when I was a kid and was forced to pledge allegiance to an empire of terror. Have been shaking and crying remembering abuses like that.
