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Article: "What Has Happened to Patriotism?"

Bone_Vulture

Appealing and hollow
Bone_Vulture
Joined
Nov 28, 2005
Messages
499
Wow, christian-underground.com is quickly becoming my favorite source of religiously toned lunacy. The article of the topic found here.

I walked into class on Tuesday, and I sat down. The kid behind me tapped me on the shoulder. Out of his mouth came words I thought I would never hear. "Tomorrow, don't stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance." I looked at him and a very loud, "What!?!" was the reply. He said, "Today, some kid in my class didn't stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance, and the teacher made him, so I'm doing it to make a point and stand up for his rights." Well, this was bad enough.
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Ho-hum. Never mind individual freedom, I guess. :rolleyes:
 
My parents were called into a meeting in the 5th grade because I wouldn't recite the pledge of allegiance in class. Well, that and I also swore alot and didn't do my homework, but I like to focus on the pledge part. I can't remember why I refused exactly at the time, but I'm sure it was highly enlightened.

I know I wouldn't do it today.
 
One of my few memories of 4th grade was a 7th day adventist kid crying in class because although he was allowed to not say the pledge because of his religion, he was make to feel like an outcast.
 
The site's quote on the founder of the ACLU is a part truth.

Baldwin's pro-Communist leanings lasted until 1939 when he was disillusioned by the Nazi-Soviet pact and broke off all radical ties; in 1927, he had visited the Soviet Union and wrote a book, Liberty Under the Soviets, which contained extensive praise for the country he denounced in a later book, A New Slavery, which condemned "the inhuman communist police state tyranny" [1]. In the 1940s, Baldwin led the campaign to purge the ACLU of Communist Party members
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Nash_Baldwin
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Kopji said:
One of my few memories of 4th grade was a 7th day adventist kid crying in class because although he was allowed to not say the pledge because of his religion, he was make to feel like an outcast.
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I recall an incident in the 6th grade at the start of the school year when one of the girl’s (new to the school) refused to recite the morning pledge-of-allegiance. In a loud and threatening tone, the teacher shamed and questioned her patriotism in front of the class. His ending comments were, “if you refuse to say the pledge-of-allegiance, you don’t deserve to be in this country”. You could've heard a pin-drop after that exchange. It was a moment in time etched in my brain forever. About 15 years later I met the same teacher, now principal of the school. We chatted nostalgically about old times and then I mentioned -in a non accusatory way- about that particular incident. He denied it ever occured and insisted I that I must have him confused with someone else.
 
I never had an issue with the Pledge as kid, beyond thinking it a waste of time, but I do remember being quietly offended by some of the songs we were made to sing in music class in elementary school. They were all patriotic "Ya Ya America is Great!" type of songs. Every one of them. Which seemed like they were trying to push something on us....if America was so great, did we really have to have it hammered in by an hour of singing about it? And one song, I forget which, included the line "the greatest nation on Earth!!" and we were all supposed to sing along and agree. I was the only kid there who had even been to another country, and I thought it rather silly that people would stand around declaring, in song, themselves to be the greatest nation with zero experience of any others. But I was shy and not fond of challenging authority (oh, how times change!) so I just didn't sing that bit.

To this day, though, all that brassy patriotic band parade-type songs make me squirm. Can't I like my country quietly? Love it in a nice romantic setting, candlelight, looking at the stars and listening to the ocean kind of way? Does patriotism have to be all shouting and waving banners and junk? That's just not my bag, baby.
 
TragicMonkey said:
To this day, though, all that brassy patriotic band parade-type songs make me squirm. Can't I like my country quietly? Love it in a nice romantic setting, candlelight, looking at the stars and listening to the ocean kind of way? Does patriotism have to be all shouting and waving banners and junk? That's just not my bag, baby.
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That's how I feel about it as well. Unfortunately, it seems that the general, irrational consensus appears to be that unless you slap a special sticker to your car, agree to the correct opinions and say the pledge, you're not supporting the troops and you're letting the terrorists win. Because that's what they want - to take away your freedom. Er, the terrorists, that is.
 
That article is a hoot, especially this paragraph:

Why do I relate this story? To illustrate a point. American kids have no concept of the amazing priviledge they have. We live in the greatest country in the world, yet we have people that cannot grasp that concept. The basic idea of patriotism is rooted in a love for your fellow man. Because you love your fellow man, you love the country in which you live. This is the country that gave you your birth. This is the country that gave you your freedom. This country, through the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, gives you both protection and freedom, both with no strings attached. In return, we should give our nation our love, devotion, and deep respect.
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Tony said:
That article is a hoot, especially this paragraph:

"Why do I relate this story? To illustrate a point. American kids have no concept of the amazing priviledge they have. We live in the greatest country in the world, yet we have people that cannot grasp that concept. The basic idea of patriotism is rooted in a love for your fellow man. Because you love your fellow man, you love the country in which you live. This is the country that gave you your birth. This is the country that gave you your freedom. This country, through the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, gives you both protection and freedom, both with no strings attached. In return, we should give our nation our love, devotion, and deep respect."
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Which apparently requires singing the national anthem and put yellow ribbon magnets on your car.
 
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