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No. Few things are. But I would put forth that it is a damn sight better than the majority of alternatives.
The language of the Declaration of Independence — the notion that those who came who came to this country, unlike the settlers of other ages and other countries, were concerned less with imitating the mother country than creating something better, made this country exceptional. The Republic, upon which this nation was founded, makes America exceptional. Our Constitution, with the freedoms it enumerates for We the People, makes this country exceptional.
My father, the son of immigrants, served this country in WWII and Korea, a part of the Greatest Generation. As much as I miss him, I have to be glad that he didn't live to see the day that the citizens of this country, a country whose EXCEPTIONAL freedoms have been paid for by the blood of her sons and daughters, would argue over whether or not requiring children to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America was "brainwashing" them.
Of all the inflated, politically correct garbage I have ever had the displeasure to read, this takes the cake.
Well, lets look at the Declaration of Independence.
Quote:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
To me, the language doesn't seem to encourage any oath of allegiance to a government. It seems to invoke the idea of government deriving its power from the governed, rather than the contrary. The point is, a forced or coerced oath of allegiance to government administered to schoolchildren is the polar opposite of free thought.
Anyway, I don't disagree with the fact that the limitations on the American government and the checks and balances on its power are exceptional. But teaching people that America and the American people are fundamentally different than the rest of the world just not correct. People are individuals, and that transcends a country's borders. The term American exceptionalism was first used by the American communist party.
thanks to its natural resources, industrial capacity, and absence of rigid class distinctions, America might for a long while avoid the crisis that must eventually befall every capitalist society.
One might expect that North Korean schools might teach youth that their country is fundamentally better than the rest of the world as well.
Wouldn't it be better to teach people to be free thinkers?
Last edited by flash3780; 06-16-2011 at 04:11 PM..
No, but I imagine you may swear each renewal term of your policy, knowing you are being forced (it's the law) by way of money to support the insurance company, just because you own a car. That is not a voluntary act you do, by the way, but the act of recital of the oath, still is, voluntary. Or did you not read the link above to the court decision? NH, wasn't it?
Time for you to debunk:
"America's Founding Fathers were great believers in loyalty oaths." oaths
You may not have to respect America or her freedom ideals that are un-tangible assets?, but unfortunately you must be stuck here.
The POINT is not whether I respect America or her ideals. The POINT is that a coerced fealty pledge does not reflect American ideals, and that such a pledge, when it is coerced, is meaningless.
If I go out on the street and pull a gun on a man and force him to marry me, his marriage oath is meaningless because it was coerced. Anytime an oath is coerced rather than voluntary, it becomes meaningless. Requiring children to recite an oath, rather than making that oath voluntary, is coercion.
Since I understand this, I would say that my respect for America and her ideals is an informed respect. Your respect is not for America and her ideals, your respect is for conformity. Conformity has NOTHING to do with the principles espoused by our Founding Fathers. Which is why our Founding Fathers did not advocate loyalty oaths. Oaths of office are not loyalty oaths. Nowhere in the federal oaths of office are there any promises of fealty or allegiance, not to a country, not to a sovereign. The promise to uphold the Constitution is a job description. The fact that an oath is recited is a testament to the seriousness of that job.
"America's Founding Fathers were great believers in loyalty oaths." oaths
Did you notice that the founding fathers were supportive of government officials taking oaths to abide by the limits on their power outlined in the Constitution on your link? That's a bit different than children being forced or coerced to swear an allegiance to their government, dontcha think?
That was not my question, you do know the socialist roots of the pledge right?
BTW, a socialist saying republic is meaningless. Remember the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics?
To answer your question, no. The reason:
"dominance of the “Middle American” values, the Communist and Socialist parties virtually disappeared in the 1950s, when membership fell to below 2,000 members." Socialism in America
It was along about that time, the words of the pledge changed:
"In 1954, in response to the Communist threat of the times, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God," creating the 31-word pledge we say today. Bellamy's daughter objected to this alteration." The Pledge of Allegiance
Many would like to put socialism and communism in the same boat together though. Both are different in distinct ideas.
Like I said and asked before, we don't live during the time of Hitler. Why do we act as if we do?
It is to honor the men and women that have fought and died for this country is the reason we recite the pledge. If a person doesn't feel the need to honor them or to teach their child to honor them, then don't.
Last edited by Ellis Bell; 06-16-2011 at 04:12 PM..
Reason: change of pronouns.
The POINT is not whether I respect America or her ideals. The POINT is that a coerced fealty pledge does not reflect American ideals, and that such a pledge, when it is coerced, is meaningless.
If I go out on the street and pull a gun on a man and force him to marry me, his marriage oath is meaningless because it was coerced. Anytime an oath is coerced rather than voluntary, it becomes meaningless. Requiring children to recite an oath, rather than making that oath voluntary, is coercion.
Since I understand this, I would say that my respect for America and her ideals is an informed respect. Your respect is not for America and her ideals, your respect is for conformity. Conformity has NOTHING to do with the principles espoused by our Founding Fathers. Which is why our Founding Fathers did not advocate loyalty oaths. Oaths of office are not loyalty oaths. Nowhere in the federal oaths of office are there any promises of fealty or allegiance, not to a country, not to a sovereign. The promise to uphold the Constitution is a job description. The fact that an oath is recited is a testament to the seriousness of that job.
If they are not taught as children, then how will they ever have the ability to make that 'informed' decision when they grow old? Seems to me, this teaching is being gone at all to one-sided.
It is to honor the men and women that have fought and died for this country is the reason we recite the pledge. If a person doesn't feel the need to honor them or to teach their child to honor them, then don't.
Last I checked, the Pledge of Allegiance doesn't mention fallen soldiers... at all.
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Go watch Judge Judy instead! 
