I Pledge Allegiance...

The original pledge:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

By 1924 "my Flag" had become "the flag of the United States of America."  In 1954 Congress added "under God" as a direct poli-religious statement to the Soviet Union.

Even religious minded people should have issue with "under God" because of the rest of the section - the context - in which it appears.  Specifically I want to consider "one nation, indivisible" and "one nation under God, indivisible."  What does it mean, "indivisible?"

Interestingly, Dictionary.com uses that part of the pledge in the definition as an example.
- "not divisible; not separable into parts; incapable of being divided: one nation indivisible."

Are the Baptists and the Catholics the same?  No, divided.  But, you can argue, both believe in God.  What about the Muslims and the Jews and the Catholics?  Again divided.  Yet again you can say they all believe in some form of God although, it would be three different Gods.  Agnostics are doubtful and Atheists, like me, don't believe in a God at all.  Atheists are divided from Muslims, Jews, and Christians, who may also be divided from each other.  So here's my question: how can we be "one nation under God, indivisible" if we are divided on God?

If you tell me that I don't have to say that part when we get to it, I can just skip over "under God" then where is the "liberty and justice" for Atheists?  Where is the "liberty and justice" for Muslims who know this refers to the Christian God?  For the Jews who are told they killed the God in the Pledge?  There's no "liberty" for them, for us, to stand there and listen to Christians talk about their God; pledge allegiance to Him.  There's no "justice" in telling us, "well, Bubba, just keep your heathen mouth shut when we get to that part."  Nor would there be justice for Christians if we used "Allah" instead of "God."

Is there justice for me to say, "You Christians can just skip over the part: 'one nation under the Flying Spaghetti Monster, indivisible...'?"  NO!  It isn't "just" and you wouldn't like being told that's your only option.  Every Christian in the country would be lined up in front of the US Supreme Court arguing that there's no justice in the option to keep quiet.  Your Christian liberty would be violated by making you stand there and listen to me pledge allegiance to Allah, Budda, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Here's my point: If you have "under God" in the pledge of Allegiance then you need to drop both "indivisible" and "with liberty and justice for all."  Because with God in there, we are divided and there's no liberty or justice for Jews, Muslims, and Atheists, not to mention a dozen or more other religions that might be represented in modern America.

The original purpose of the Pledge was fidelity to the Union of the United States of America.  It was written by Baptist Minister Francis Bellamy right after the Civil War.  I'm a veteran, a proud American, a patriot, and an atheist.  Is there no pledge for me to recite that shows my love of America without calling into question issues of divine belief?  Can I not pledge my patriotism with my fellow Americans - be they Christians, Muslims, Jews, Norse, Greeks, Romans, or FSMs?  Is there no pledge we can all recite together to show our love of America?  Yes there is: the original Pledge of Allegiance does just that.

Confederate Flags

Back in the 80's, in final days of the Cold War, I had a friend that was stationed in Germany.  As an Intelligence Officer, it was his duty to know the strengths and capabilities of the East German military.  How would they fight?  What assets do they have available?  How would they be deployed?  How fast could they move?  It was his job to know this; to think like they would think.  To remind him of his mission, he hung an East German flag in his barracks.

One day, during inspection, the First Sergeant told him that his flag was anti-American and he'd have to take it down.  Of course he had to comply, but he asked the First Sergeant to reconsider as it was part of his job to think like an East German.  Was the flag a symbol for East Germans?  Would they die for it?  Did it represent more than a colorful banner?  His arguments fell on deaf ears.  He asked his Platoon Leader, and eventually his Company Commander, but all gave the same answer: "It's anti-American, take it down."

Not one to be easily dissuaded - he was trained to think like his enemy - he tried a new tactic.  He approached his First Sergeant and asked, "Everything that's anti-American needs to be taken down?"

"Yes," was the emphatic reply.

"Okay then," says my friend, "Sergeant Smith across the hall has a Confederate Flag on his wall, that should come down too, right?"

"No, of course not.  Why would it?"

"Well," says my friend, "the Confederate Flag is the flag of people that fought and killed Americans in their efforts to quit the United States.  They were fighting against America in an effort to stop being Americans.  How much more anti-American can you get?"

Caught in the verbal trap, the First Sergeant knew that every American barracks building in Germany - perhaps every American barracks around the world - had a Confederate Flag displayed somewhere.  Removing them all was a fight he couldn't win and if he allowed that show of anti-Americanism, then he'd have to allow my friend to keep his East German flag.  My friend had won.

It feels like it's become an annual thing for someone somewhere fly their Confederate Flag proudly.  There was that public school employee in Oregon; the Georgia State Capital; now a woman in South Carolina (AP News, Sept 2011).  All of them using the same argument: "It's our heritage.  It's part of our family history and it means something to me."

It seems to me that too many people love to espouse anti-American beliefs against freedom and equality at the same time they hide behind those very freedoms.  Is this what has become of Southern Hospitality?  Bite the hand that protects you?  Accept the lemonade as you throw it in your host's face?  Stomp on the peach pie as you ask for another slice?

The Confederate Flag means something to a lot of people: it's a symbol of hatred, bigotry, discrimination, and racism. That flag is as much a symbol of terrorism as anything Bin Laden or the Taliban ever cooked up.  It's a symbol of some people's desire to continue the tenets of slavery.

For all of you that own that flag, by waiving it around, you're announcing to the world your beliefs that being a hate-mongering terrorist right to "heritage" trumps every other American's rights to live free and safe.  I beg you, American's, take down that flag!  For you Terrorists, keep flying it high so we know you for what you are.

Look, Ma. No Hands!

I'm coming into the blogging world late. Many of you would say that blogging is past its prime now and so I'm too late. Maybe. But I'm not blogging for you, I'm blogging for me.

I find in my old age (45) that I've become opinionated. I lay awake at night tossing and turning and writing in my head. I can't sleep; the only thing I find that works it to get up, fire on the 'puter and get all that stuff off my mind.

So, I'm starting this blog for my health. So I can sleep. So I can have happy dreams. I'll write down all my demons and nightmares and share them with you. Misery loves company.

Some of these are just my random thoughts.  Some will be stories from my past (my memoir in blog form) and some will be the ranting of a middle-aged lunatic.  I have a few that I've saved from days past.  I'll start with these and add more as I go.

I do hope you get something out of this too.  I think I've had a unique past.  A troubled childhood.  I hope that in my pain, you might find strength.  I wish you luck if you recognize something of your past in mine.