Comments on: We pledge allegiance to each other

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:18:15 +0000

Peter, you left out “indivisible.” Here’s the pledge:

“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 scans well, although omitting “under God” would make it scan better.

By: PeterW

PeterW — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:26:48 +0000

>I wish that people, when reciting the pledge, would not pause >between “one nation” and “under God.” There is no comma.

There should be. “One-nation-under-God-with-liberty-and-justice-for-all.” is not really very readable. But that’s what you get when you insert extra words for political correctness. The original “One nation, with liberty and justice for all” did scan better.

To be fair, people also seem to pause between “I pledge allegiance” and “to the flag.”

By: Allison

Allison — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:25:57 +0000

So no editor at Salon is literate enough to parse and comprehend what the Pledge says.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:38:35 +0000

I wish that people, when reciting the pledge, would not pause between “one nation” and “under God.” There is no comma.

You can thank a DAR friend for my latest obsession.

By: Clix

Clix — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:23:35 +0000

I don’t know, SuperSub… the CNN anchor asked the kid “what is a gaywad?” and he thought about it, and then said very calmly, “I don’t know. I think it’s a discriminatory term for homosexuals.”

We’re all shaped, to some degree, by our parents’ ideas, attitudes, and behaviors, but we’re still individuals. This young feller presents himself as quite rational; I think that seeing that some of his parents’ friends are allowed to get married and others aren’t would be a credible point of origin for his thought process.

By: SuperSub

SuperSub — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:42:28 +0000

Look, I’m all for free expression, but does anyone not think that this boy is just parroting what his parents say about the country? The articles say that he has plenty of gay friends, which, I’m assuming, are adults met through his parents’ political activities.

By: Swede

Swede — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:39:27 +0000

I know that we all know this, but keep in mind that the “under God” segment was a very recent addition (the 1950′s) to serve as a reminder of the Godless nature of the Communists. Kind of a childish reaction if you ask me. Then again, a nice low level tool to agitate against the very possible spread of communism.
On another note, does anybody else feel a tinge of nationalistic unease by having to recite the pledge every morning as a rote exercise? Reciting anything over and over again without meaning or critical analysis seems to me to be a problem that truly freedom loving people should react strongly against.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:26:25 +0000

Richard John Neuhaus used to say that “under God” meant under the judgment of God.

By: Crimson Wife

Crimson Wife — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:44:29 +0000

I’ve got a homeschooling friend who doesn’t think much of the idea of pledging allegiance to the flag (which after all is only a symbol), so she has her son recite the Preamble to the Constitution each morning instead.

By: ricki

ricki — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:58:20 +0000

“I pledge allegiance to my next-desk neighbor. And to the self-esteem-raising exercises for which we take class time. No Child Left Behind, discipline problems tolerate, with standardized testing for all.”

New version, not an improvement.

My first reaction was also, “We’re not pledging allegiance to the government; we’re pledging to the IDEA of America….which is the people.” Guy misses the point.