Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Obligatory Pledge of Allegiance Post

I guess that as a blogger I'm required to comment on today's ruling that the term "under God" as used in the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. So here's my comment:

I don't care.

And here's why. Think back to your youth. It's 8:00 AM. Your 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Witherspoon tells the class to stand, place a hand over their hearts and recite the pledge, which sounds something like this:

"Ipledglegiancetotheflag (breath) oftheunitedstatesofamerica (breath) andtotherepublicforwhichitstands (breath) onenationundergod (breath) indivisible (or somesuch unintelligible mutter - breath) withlibertyandjusticeforall (breath-shuffle-shuffle)."

And so all the brouhaha on both sides will be spent on something to which no reasonable child is really paying the least bit of attention.

And by the time I was old enough to really care to think about the meaning of the words in the pledge, my conception of religion was well formed beyond the strength of any such invocation to influence.

So, as with the periodic anti-flag burning amendment proposals, a great deal of sound and fury will be spent, as usual, signifying nothing.

May I suggest that the energy spent on either side of this issue might be much better spent addressing the actual quality of children's education, their health, the environment they live in, or the debt with which they're being saddled.

1 comment:

Citizen Kang said...

As an agnostic I have to agree that we on the left could do a better job picking our battles. I'm much more concerned with religion being confused with science than I am with "under God" in the Pledge, or the inclusion of a creche in a public Christmas display.

I do also feel that much of the public hand-wringing over such cases is mere demagoguery on the part of the right-wing Chrisitian leadership. Given the overwhelming predominance of Christian symbolism and belief in this country, I have to wonder whose faith is so weak that removing the cross from LA's seal, for example, would somehow diminish their belief in God?