If America is a great nation, and if the truths of its ideas and institutions are self-evidently obvious, then why the need for daily expressions of allegiance? The Pledge ritual seems better suited to an insecure nation worried about change and fearful of commitment of its young people and its newcomers. Backers of the Pledge are often cast as true patriots, but it is arguably those who would dispense with a daily Pledge who are the ones who harbor the greatest faith in the enduring power and strength of American institutions and American ideas.
from "To the Flag: The Unlikely History of the Pledge of Allegiance" by Richard Ellis. Emphasis mine.
[This book was the winner of the Langum Prize in Legal History 2005 btw]
Please read into the Congressional Record. And enjoy the boxers.
Those flag lapel pins have become the latest patriotic litmus test. Are there any politicians brave enough not to wear one?
ReplyDeleteLooks like the definition of "desecration" to me, right there.
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog through a random clicking and its great! Cant wait to hear your book review when you're finished.
ReplyDeleteI love how most people can't even remember the proper name of the Pledge of Allegiance. Have you ever heard people who call it the "Pledgalegions?" I haven't said it since probably 6th grade. Do they still make kids do it in school?
Happy Birthday last week.
I got in trouble in eighth grade for refusing to pledge allegiance to the flag.
ReplyDeleteI got sent to the principal's office.
bluegirl, i love you.
ReplyDeleteyou should have inverted that image of the american flag boxers. we are a nation in distress, after all.
I got in trouble as an eight grade teacher 'cause I still won't do the Pledge. Yes, we still say it every day. It's led by a kid over the loudspeaker. Most kids say it, a few don't.
ReplyDeleteEvery year, I teach this really subversive little book called "The Children's Story," by James Clavell, that talks about how nobody really knows what they're saying when they mindlessly repeat those words every day. Makes for great discussions.
Not only is *collective memory* of the general public "short" as to the origin of the Pledge..but about the origin of the "Under God" addtions.
ReplyDeleteThanks...looks like an interesting book.
:-D
great comments as usual...wide lawns and t(h)om, welcome to the party...
ReplyDeleteyeah baby! been reading you for months just never commented. all about the bloglove!
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Have you ever heard people who call it the "Pledgalegions?"
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the ongoing fight to save Sociacurity, and 1996, when Bob Dole ran for the office of Presaniastay.
yeah i agree, i'm from the uk and we're pretty secure in our nationhood. Pippa
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