We Pledge Allegiance...
So, this week our new Director (we're too small to have a Principal *rolls eyes*) had a flag pole put up and we have the American Flag flapping over our little school. It's nice to see it everyday as I wander to and fro during the day.
One of the high school students was heard saying, "Aw, he's just trying to make us look like a real school." A telling account of how our school is viewed by its student body.
Well, a day or two later, at our faculty meeting, we discussed whether or not we would begin saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each day.
Do we make them say it? Does the presence of the phrase "under God" hinder rights just by saying it alloud? Hearing it said by another person? If they have the option of saying it, do they have the option to sit down? Lay their heads down? Can we make them at least stand up? Stand at attention and cover their hearts? Will it cause more problems than it's worth?
In the end, we decided we would start each day with the Pledge of Allegiance, we would require them to stand, we would
not require them to say the Pledge, but to remain quiet while others whop chose to do so did so. I supported the requirement to stand. After all, if we can require that the students remain in their seats for an hour, we can require that they stand beside their desks for less than a minute.
And we've had zero problems that I am aware of. As a middle school teacher, I am not privy to all the little problems the high school teachers face. I don't have a first block class, so I'm not sure if my middle school students are actually saying the Pledge...but I do know this: One morning, I was outside when the office started the Pledge and I stopped, put my hand over my chest, and recited the Pledge. One of my students was outside as well, going to the office for one reason or the other. He saw me stop, and he stopped...I don't know if he put his hand over his chest, and I don't know if he recited the Pledge...but he stopped just as I had...and I hadn't given him any verbal or nonverbal warnings...he was standing and quiet...all our requirements were met. We've also had two middle school students volunteer to say the Pledge over the intercom. They weren't asked if they could...they asked if they could...they asked to say the Pledge to the entire school when they didn't hardly know it.
The complaints...
The phrase "under God" sets up a state religion in Christianity.
Well, except that "under God" could just as easily be "under god" (notice the lowercase "g"), or "under G/goddess", or "under Allah", "under Yahweh", "under Vishnu", "under Ahura Mazda"...Hell, I think teaching everyone to say the Pledge and inserting your divinity of choice would strengthen the Pledge...because, doesn't everyone want their government approved of by their diety?
The Pledge is an indoctrination tool to make young children grow into mindless slaves of the government...
Some of yo, hopefully, are thinking, "You can't be serious!" Well, check it out...
Here We Go AgainThe Pledge: The Real ObjectionYou know...that's laughable. If it was that easy to indoctrinate someone into a mindset, then there would be way fewer problems between parents and children. There would be child parenting tips titled
How to Mold the Perfect Child, possibly only available in Germany, but still! Remove the forced recitation, make it optional, and then it's just children seeing adults show respect to the symbol of our country and to the the government it represents. And respect doesn't mean that you always agree...respect but disagree with the government in power that year...It's just not that big of a deal.
American Society Caught in Katrina's Wake...
...It's not a pretty thing. Let me see if I understand everything...
Hurricane Katrina cruises into the Gulf of Mexico. The people and governments of New Orleans and Louisiana do nothing. Hurricane Katrina is a big mean category 5 bitch, and the people and givernments of New Orleans and Louisiana do nothing. Big mean size 5 bitch Katrina slams into New Orleans and floods it. and...
1) Thousands of people die
2) Some survivors start roaming the flooded city, like gangs from the Mad Max movies, looting, raping, killing, and shooting at rescuers.
3) The American people's reactions often seem to be, "Yeah, yeah...the death and destruction are bad, but what's going to be done about gas prices?"
4) While we're at it...let's use this travesty to promote our political and societal agendas by blaming the President and declaring racism to be rampant in the slow rescue attempts and reporting of the situation.
Let's look at these points one at a time...
Point 1, the death and destruction. Words can't describe my sorrow for what has happened in New Orleans. I heard someone talking about a report of a man holding desperately to his wife and children trying to save their lives and the wife, realizing her husband couldn't hold on to them all for much longer, told her husband to take care of the kids, and let go. Sounds like something out of a movie, right? The pictures on
Clea's Cave also seem movie like...from Dawn of the Dead... This is so horrible that I think a lot of us are thinking in terms of movies...as a coping mechanism...to make it seem not real...
Point 2, Fuckers taking advantage... Martial Law people...tell the National Guard to shoot these people in the head. You looking for food? Fine, you may go. You stealing a television? BANG! You raping, killing, shooting at good people? BANG! You act inhuman, don't expect to be treated like a human.
Blue's Blog provides a similar point of view...
Point 3, You know, I'm not happy about the gas prices, but that's a small thing compared to water flooding an entire city, people being trapped with the bodies of the dead floating by in waste infected water...thousands of people have lost everything and you're worried about the price of gas? Get some perspective... Things I saw while everyone was worried about gas prices...People filling up gas cans and putting them in their full cars, people filling up the RVs and motor homes, and people filling up their boats! Because, I know, with all the horror in New Orleans, and gas prices soaring, I better having my Sea Doo gased and raring to go... And while I'm talking about gas prices, which everyone blames Bush for...Jimmy Carter passed the Clean Air Act back in the 70s and between that and other Environmentally Minded legislation, no new oil refinery has been built in over 25 years. No new oil refineries, but increased demand for oil means that the refineries are working at maximum capacity, which slows down the rate at which oil becomes available, thus creating a demand with limited supply, thus leading to higher prices...The "oil crisis" started long before Bush got in office.
Read about it here.Point 4, While we're blaming Bush for gas prices and for trying to give people in a foreign land freedom, let's blame him for the flooding of New Orleans...Despite the fact that people had been voicing doubts about the ability of the levies to prevent flooding, despite the fact that the flood control project, which started in the 60s, wasn't scheduled to be completed until 2015, ten years from now, and despite the fact that the levies were only designed to withstand a category 3 hurricane, not a category 5 like Katrina. Let's also blame him for the state and city governments not getting the National Guard on alert, or evacuating the city before the hurricane hit, or any other common sense reactions to a big ass storm heading your way... They're a little wishy washy, but check out
FactCheck.org's report.
Greed, selfishness, rape, killing, finger pointing...yep, that's the America I want the rest of the world to see...Thanks America!
