Quoted:
ar lady,
I don't have to pledge allegiance to anyone or anything. My actions and words speak for themselves. Tons of flag wavers out there this week. Where they been for the past 50 years? Remember well my Marine Corps days in the 70's. People driving by calling me baby killer and throwing shit. So fucking spare me. I've been a patriotic american all of my life and some dumb fucking pledge, national anthem, or waving of flags right now don't prove shit to me. We'll see how long it lasts.
As for the pledge of allegiance I'll tell you that most kids puke it out and don't even really think about what they're saying much less what it means. Ask them sometime. Further it only diminishes these words to have them recited daily in a manner which dilutes their meaning, intent and importance. When I was a kid they taught us civics and american history that was not some watered down PC bullshit. Now that is important.
Finally, there is no one, repeat no one, fit to question my patriotism.
View Quote
calm down. i didn't mean to imply that i was questioning your patriotism. i misunderstood you meaning.
i still think that your solution only makes the situation worse. i agree that most kids "puke it out" but would you rather they just completely stopped saying it or would you prefer that when they said it, they knew why they were saying it and it really did mean something to them? and i still don't think the Pledge is BS.
and if no one is fit to judge your patriotism, why is it that you seem to be doing it to so many other Americans? seems to me there's a lot of "if they're not my kind of American/patriot, they're no American/patriot at all" going on here. now is exactly the time to reach these people instead of scoffing at them and disparaging what we perceive as their "sometime patriotism". i dare say that most of those people love America as much as we do. that they don't always show it or that they don't always show it in a way that you or i would prefer (or think is [i]the[/i] right way, does not mean they are less of an American.
i say we use what has happened to our benefit and instead of railing against everybody who thinks differently, we use their patriotism and love of American to bring them back to the path of the republic. i think that the Pledge, the anthem, and flag-waving are perfect intros for converation starters to "educate" these people.
just my two pennies.