In grade school they tell you to, every morning say the pledge of allegiance. It goes like this: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for witch it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
Really people? In the bill of rights what is the first thing granted, its religious freedom. And yet in the 1950's some idiots said "lets force kids to say one nation under God every day for 5 years". This is corrupting, when kids are little its easier to persuade them. So pretty much they are trying to force the belief of a deity on little kids.
THIS NEEDS TO STOP!
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation has a campaign going on right now called don't take the pledge. Check it out Frff.org
Perhaps "Religious freedom" actually means: "Freedom for Christians to oppress, discriminate and indoctrinate" these days?
It does:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiQkOT1if24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMfa-pNbRcg
The US is not a republic. Understand what that means, contrast it to the long running turmoil called a nation, and then report back. Any "pledge" to it will seem hollow. Supreme power belonging to the people and their elected officials is an impossible scenario and ranks right up there with the word miracle - no such thing. It cannot work, never has and never will. Someone always takes the lion's share of power and it isn't the people. The government of the US is two rival siblings separated by hate trying to survive themselves at the cost of running the country they were elected to run. There's no recovering from the damage they've blindly allowed to happen. Read your economic state of the union indicators.
On the related topic of god and state, don't sweat the pledges or other such rhetoric. They're written to sound top shelf and profound but, as always, die an embarrassing death in the ears of free thinkers. Leave that stuff alone. If you're so inclined, participate with your kids. Know what they do in school, how they feel about it and how you can ensure their understanding of truth from all the other stuff. You're their first line of defense in a life you gave them in the lifetime game of human deception. Buck up, take responsibility and give them the tools to take it on.
Pitar, I totally agree on all things mentioned: political and what it is important to teach your children. By getting lost in the minutiae of the words in the pledge, we lose sight of the big issues, i.e. our country's economic fragility. Teaching our kids how to deal with life and the world is way more important.
@Pitar
The USA IS most definitely a REPUBLIC. re·pub·lic
rəˈpəblik/
noun
a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.
archaic
a group with a certain equality between its members.
The USA is actually a representative democracy which qualifies as a republic as there is no monarchy in rule.
I agree that the pledge shouldn't say, "under God." Just like our currency shouldn't say, "In God We Trust."
Hopefully sometime soon these won't be a problem.
The only defense that I have heard to keep the pledge and our currency the same so far is, "this is a Christian country so they should stay how they are!" Definitely not a good point..
It is very hard to have a discussion about things like this with religious people.. in my experiences so far, they can be very stubborn.
They love their idols and statues even if they have a commandment against it.
If their god cannot reason with them what hopes do sane people have?
I hope that someday we can go back to the pre-1954 pledge without "under God" in it. I love my country and feel that I am being robbed of my right to say the pledge allegiance to this country because of an unconstitutional addition.
@ATHEISTRULES
In 1954 "One nation under god" was added to the pledge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance
This is a clear violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Doubtful the politicized SCOTUS will even hear any lawsuit to repair the violation.
The SCOTUS I believe did weigh in on In God We Trust and actually said some rubbish about it being broad and that in this instance "God" did not have a religious meaning. I doubt that the current court of 5 religidiots, 3 garden variety idiots and one thinker (the Notorious RBG) will be willing to revisit this incompetent decision.
"The Notorious RGB". Funny! I bet she would love it! :-)
You need to remove "under" also or it sounds weird. Just saying.
It actually started when they put "In God we Trust" on the coin in 1871 I believe
I stopped saying the p!edge in grade school during the sixties. I was rejecting the sheepish obedience to nationalism at an early age.
Taking a knee with Colin Kaepernick.
side note :
ill never sing that damn star spangled again. we need a new song 3rd verse of star spangled banner is about slaves that took flight and fought against the confederate.
"no refuge can save the hireling or slave
from the terror of flight or gloom for the grave"
also after the war America asked England for 6,000 properties back, aka slaves
This is what I heard correct me please if I'm wrong
JamieB,
The song is racist (for real) and hypocritical beyond belief. It boasts about freedom but brags about keeping other people in slavery. The only reason we have it as a ritual is because the most racist of all Presidents, Woodrow Wilson, pushed it. I think it took about 30 attempts for Congress to adopt the damn thing. The singers should sing all of it. That might kill it off and then we can get a good anthem.
No we need to add "that we love" instead of under god. It is our right. just be a little louder at that part
At my high school, we don’t even say the pledge, but when we say it at Scout troop meetings, I just say the whole thing except the “Under God” part- like the original pledge before the Red Scare in the fifties.
Rohan M.,
A heretic Baptist preacher concocted the Pledge, which is odd because if he had been a real believer he wouldn't have came up with something that requires people to swear allegiance to other than his imaginary deity. He wanted to create a socialist society in which people worshiped the State. It is whacked from that pov but it has been very effective in creating a national identity for a nation composed of diverse people and it has brainwashed most people into believing in equal justice for all. That is a big idea for social change. So maybe the ends justify the means.
The straight arm salute was the best. The Nazis liked it so much they adopted it for their own use. We should have sued them for copyright infringement but it wasn't copyrighted.
Where is your proof for all of this?
Rohan M.,
"Where is your proof for all of this?"
There is enough information and pictures on this site to keep you occupied for a week. Enjoy =
http://rexcurry.net/book1a1contents-pledge.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bellamy
You cited two sources. One was Wikipedia, the other a blog of a nutjob. Did you notice they contradict each other?
I have noticed that you are having a serious problem with reality. Saying that the blog is the work of a nutjob is willfully ignoring American history regarding the Pledge of Allegiance. It is a historical fact that Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, wrote the Pledge of Allegiance. That is what i said in my initial post. The links provide additional information. They agree on that fact. If they disagree on other points that does not invalidate the primary fact.
And don't you just love the straight arm salute?
I'm much more concerned about saluting in general, than the angle of someone's elbow during a salute.
--------------------------------------------
The Wikipedia contradicts that. It says that the Nazi salute, while somewhat similar, had a very different origin. And perhaps you don't trust Wikipedia, and I can sympathize with that. However, you are the one who used it as a source.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MVYl8iy2Ic
It is my opinion that atheism will steadily increase until we can overturn all laws that give religious privilege. I expect that to happen within the next 100 years, if nothing major changes.
Besides, you don't have to say the pledge of allegience or sing any patriotic songs, as it has been ruled, by the supreme court, unconstitutional to be forced to.
@Meepwned
Well, I hope it does- within my lifetime.
Atheists will be out-reproduced 10 times over if nothing changes. Have some kids, y'all!
https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2017/04/05/because-muslims-are-outbr...
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