June 28, 2002
Liberty And Justice For All
OK, I'll bite.
Mass hysteria over the Pledge of Allegiance. (We need something to focus on between important news stories, apparently.) It just reaffirms that people are far too sensitive (that means everyone), most politicians are still idiots (they're ALL idiots in that article) who always feel the need to put on a show, the judicial system now bows to public opinion, and the country as a whole is misguided about the Pledge in the first place.
For one thing, the founders of the nation didn't institute the Pledge. It was written in the late nineteenth century by a socialist editor, in a magazine for children. It was finally recognized by the government in the forties. (What better time for a heavy-handed nationalistic oath? What better time to pledge allegiance to a flag?) The "under God" was added during the Dwight Eisenhower administration because it sounded too much like the pledges the "godless communists" were making. (Instead of realizing how pointless their pledges were, we just fired back with our own, but added God into the mix!) Which makes me wonder why we have the pledge in the first place, because it really does sound like something you would hear children in schools of a communist state repeating ad nauseam. (You should see what they make the poor children do in North Korea.) We all stand around like the overgrown Boy Scouts of Nationalism, reciting the damned thing, yet I'll bet a good proportion of us couldn't recite the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, or even the Gettysburg Address.
I've been told that the Pledge is just 'good old-fashioned patriotism.' Quite frankly, I think much of 'good old-fashioned patriotism' is cheap and empty. It's nationalism, supertribalism, whatever. I'll take a walk through a wealthy, thriving, open, multicultural city - or a weekend camping in the outdoors - over the pageantry of any 4th of July parade or fireworks show.
Then there's our attitude toward the flag. I see American flags everywhere. We make clothes out of it. We tack it on every product imaginable. We fly three of them from the window of our car (tattering them to shreds as we drive down the freeway). We make a flag out of ornamental lights, paint it across the garage door, stick twelve of them in the front lawn. Which is not completely bad... in a way, that's just quintessentially American. But it does reveal that we no longer view the flag in a deeper sense, as a symbol of All That Is Right with the USA. It's just another logo. After Sept. 11th it was almost magical because for a moment it had meaning again - as a symbol of unity, hope, strength. After 9/11 I had hoped we might remember the flag stands for bold ideas, but instead we started turning it into a tpyical tribal symbol proudly displayed at our opponents. We made twelve billion flags, shipped them to Wal Mart and pasted them in every possible location. ("If I don't have a flag on my car like everyone else, does that say something bad about me?" or "Hey, look at that SUV over there. I'll bet that guy's an American!") The flag lost even the meaning it gained after Sept. 11. And it remains tacked on a three-dollar t-shirt or stuck to the side of the Big Gulp we drink as we zoom past the voting booth on election day (the turnout at the local primary election was 7%).
So. Hmm. Forgive my ranting. I've always been wary of dime-store patriotic fervor. I consider myself very patriotic - I simply want it to be meaningful, otherwise it's silly & childish and there's no point to it. As messed up as we may be, I still think America is a brilliant idea - one that we should feel passionate about.
Back to the whole Pledge of Allegiance mess... I'm one of the few (apparently) who actually agrees with the decision, and I'm tired of having to defend myself. There's no doubt in my mind that separation of church and state is an essential characteristic of our political system. And it was important to those who founded this country (despite what the religious right would have you believe). Ask any American Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, etc. etc. etc. Another thing: Does stating that this nation is 'under God' imply that others are not? That seems such blatant nationalistic hubris that it's laughable. We're the only people capable of following God? Or worse, God cares more about His American children than He does about billions of Chinese? Please. If anything, He'd get a good chuckle out of the notion that Americans have exclusive rights to divine guidance.
But anyway. Now I'm all worked up about it too, which is embarrassing, since that's what I was going to rant about in the first place.
Well, everything will settle down soon. Then we can start worrying about more important issues. Like "In God We Trust" on coins. Heheh.
28 Jun 12:00 | Link | Category: Current Events, Opinion & Thoughts, Politics