Is Flag Burning a Good Method of Expression of Political Views? (middle east, independence)
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I never associated the mandated recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance with pride or civic duty. Once I thought about what the words meant to me, I stopped saying it.
Technically, the words are inconsequential. It's really about taking a moment to acknowledge your country, whether you recite the words or not, and being patriotic.
I never associated the mandated recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance with pride or civic duty. Once I thought about what the words meant to me, I stopped saying it.
I'm curious what the words mean to you that caused you to stop saying it.
It angers people in the military, so short answer is NO. The military are driven by pride in one's country. I think there are much better ways to protest than hurting folks that are serving our country. I also feel it looks very childish, not to mention looks like a bunch of spoiled brats throwing a tantrum.
It angers people in the military, so short answer is NO. The military are driven by pride in one's country. I think there are much better ways to protest than hurting folks that are serving our country. I also feel it looks very childish, not to mention looks like a bunch of spoiled brats throwing a tantrum.
So if the military doesn't like something...that's it! Totalitarian leaders would love you. But, civilians control our military, our military doesn't control we civilians.
It was never forced? Actually it was in my elementary school back in the 1950s.
Really? I never felt forced. I was glad to say it. And to read a Bible verse, too (we took turn in my NJ public school in the 1950s.) It doesn't seem to have harmed me, since I reject xenophobia in all its forms and have never considered becoming a Christian.
But I do remember that reading the KJV introduced me to Renaissance English and inspired me to study Elizabethan and Jacobean poetry, go on to graduate school, and make a career out of teaching in the humanities. Without that early exposure to the beauty of Biblical language, I might never have taken the path i chose. Who knows, though? My point is that serendipity is everywhere. It is vital. When we reduce the range of exposure of our children to the culture, history, and yes, religious artifacts of Western civilization, we rob them of an important part of their heritage.
There is more to life than outrage, anger, and confrontation for ther own sake.
That could be done. The words "Under God" were added later anyway.
It also would not be forced. (It never was.) Some kids may choose not to recite it and that's their choice.
Wrong.
If you don't know the history of the pledge of allegiance (and either you don't, or you do and you're not being honest - I'll presume the issue here is ignorance and not deceit) then why are you making this claim?
Quote:
The origins of the flag salute controversy at the heart of the 1940 Supreme Court case Minersville School District v. Gobitis can be traced to Nazi Germany. In 1933, on the orders of Adolf Hitler, the Nazi Party banned Jehovah's Witnesses for their refusal to join in raised-palm salutes to Nazi flags in schools and at public events; more than 10,000 Jehovah's Witnesses were eventually removed to concentration camps. In 1935, in response to these events, Joseph Rutherford, the American leader of the Jehovah's Witnesses, made a radio address denouncing compulsory flag salute laws in the United States and calling on American Witnesses to refuse to comply with them.
Lillian and William Gobitas were practicing Jehovah's Witnesses in the devoutly Catholic community of Minersville, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1935, they were in the seventh and fifth grades, respectively, when they decided to heed Rutherford's call and begin refraining from the daily recital of the Pledge of Allegiance practiced in their public school classrooms. Upon hearing of the Gobitas children's actions, the superintendent of their school system sought, successfully, to have the Board of Education pass a resolution requiring all students to "salute the flag of our Country as a part of the daily exercises" and stating that a student's refusal to cooperate "shall be regarded as an act of insubordination and shall be dealt with accordingly." Lillian and William Gobitas were subsequently expelled from their school and forced to enroll at a private institution.
That law was not unique to West Virginia. Many states enacted mandatory pledge laws during World War I. As is typical, during wartime flag-wavers, jingoists, and garden-variety authoritarians use the national mood to clamp down on liberty. In the above decision, the law was upheld as constitutional by the United States Supreme Court.
Sadly, the case resulted in a variety of attacks on Jehovah's Witnesses across the nation - physical attacks, arson, arrest (supposed for their 'safety') and at least one tarring-and-feathering.
Happily, the high court realized that it had screwed up, and in a follow-up case three years later it reversed course and ruled that complusory pledge laws were unconstitutional.
To me, if you are an American, burning a flag is not protesting or expressing a political view, it's attacking the symbol of your country. I don't equate whoever is in charge of the government with our flag. Our flag has been around for hundreds of years, whereas politicians come and go. If you're angry with our elected officials, burning a flag isn't effective. It's your vote that counts. It's your political contributions that count. Taking away your vote and your money is how you force change.
I wish schools would reinstate the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning. Everyone should have pride in their country, whether they agree with what the politicians are doing or not. Kids today are growing up without that sense of pride and civic duty.
Some of the people burning the flag detest all or most of American history and exactly what that flag represents. Such as liberating Jews in WWII, only to segregate black people and deny rights. Or practicing genocide with the native population. There's far more reasons to burn the flag than Trump and Bannon.
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