Decius wrote:
] ] The Christian priesthood, finding the doctrines of Christ
] ] leveled to every understanding and too plain to need
] ] explanation, saw, in the mysticisms of Plato, materials with
]
] ] which they might build up an artificial system which might,
]
] ] from its indistinctness, admit everlasting controversy, give
]
] ] employment for their order, and introduce it to profit,
] power,
] ] and pre-eminence. The doctrines which flowed from the lips
] ] of Jesus himself are within the comprehension of a child;
] but
] ] thousands of volumes have not yet explained the Platonisms
] ] engrafted on them: and for this obvious reason that nonsense
]
] ] can never be explained." -Thomas Jefferson
]
] A very interesting and angry discussion on Slashdot about the
] Pledge case. Thought I'd bring it over here and see what
] people have to say. CNN's take is rather propagandist. In
] general, I find this subject to be messy. I think its obvious
] why the words "under god" have been added to the pledge, and I
] think its obvious that it was illegal to do it. However, three
] generations have now been raised bleating those words out
] every morning in a practice that I objected to as a child
] simply because it is the most obvious sort of brainwashing.
] Those people are no more likely to be able to look critically
] and rationally upon the words of their pledge then a Frenchman
] is to discard his native tongue. Could we not start by having
] schools which do not include these words in the pledge, or
] better yet, to not pledge at all? Does it make sense to
] confront America with its most ingrained irrational
] convictions directly? Is this going to be productive?

my feeling is that doing the pledge at all, either as a school or as an individual, should be voluntary. i don't really have a problem with *a* pledge of allegiance in principle. I think giving kids a bit of nationalism at a young age is perfectly acceptible, and when they're old enough to understand the words they're saying, then they should be allowed to choose not to say some, or all of them.

it's a slippery slope of course. I have many problems with the way our country is run in many areas, but i haven't moved to another country yet, and am not really planning to. i like america. to the extent that children are exposed to pride in the accomplishments of american government, they may be more inclined to help correct those things that tarnish what is otherwise good. the cynicism of our generation is pretty unparalleled and i think a lot of it stems from having the financial stability to analyse finer grained issues which aren't a concern in nations trying to pay for food.

at any rate, i think it's counterproductive to abolish the pledge entirely. when the populace of a nation has no pride in the nation, no allegiance to it at all, it can't survive for long. blind nationalism isn't the answer, but respect and honor, and devotion at least to the ideals of liberty and justice for all can't be bad. part of a student's education is recognising for themselves that their country doesn't always live up to the promise of its pledge, and that perhaps they are capable of assisting in that process. take out the under god part if you must, though i don't feel that anyone under the age of 13 is damaged by mouthing the words, and those older than that can begin to decide for themselves if they believe in God or god, and if invoking His or its existence is appropriate.

as a final thought, i don't think belief in god is a religious one at all. religion is a social structure defined by particular rules and practices, followed by a substantial group of people. belief in the existence of some god speaks to a spiritual center that is and should be more or less personal. i think children raised with the pledge are just as likely to make the same informed decision about their spiritual beliefs as ones raised without it. the influence of family is a billion times more relevant than wether or not you say the words "one nation under god" by rote on a regular basis.

RE: Slashdot | Supreme Court Will Hear Pledge of Allegiance Case