PLEDGING ALLEGIANCE
- OVER AND OVER AGAIN
by Oscar Falconi
Since 9-11 many groups over the entire country have been having members
"do The Pledge" - over and over again, day after day, or week after week.
This has created a nationwide controversy.
Most of us have recited the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag well over
1000 times in grade school. It's all senseless when we know that a
pledge need only be stated once to be etched in stone.
It takes only one public declaration to denounce our country - why
then does it take 1000 pledges to love it?
We already love the flag of the United States of America and the
country for which it stands.
The reason we love our country is,
as we matured and aged, we actually experienced what America is all
about, and what it offers us. Many of us have been lucky enough to
have been able
to compare the U.S. with dozens of other societies and have
concluded the United States is presently best.
This, then, is why
we love America, not because of rote "pledges" we were urged to recite
daily at an early age when our young, empty, susceptible brains were
blindly accepting all ideas and slogans. We were too young even to
know the meaning of what we were memorizing and reciting.
Hitler's propaganda minister, Goebbels, said if you repeat something
enough times, they'll believe it. Were we brainwashed, Nazi style?
There's no need to have young kids, nor anyone, pledge allegiance
every day, every week, to our flag and to the country for which it
stands,
again and again and again, ad nauseam.
I mentioned these
"politically incorrect" thoughts to a friend, a true World War II hero
who was partially crippled on his 30th mission over Germany, and he
angrily
asked me if I was a traitor. A traitor, of course, would jump at any
opportunity to pledge allegiance to our flag in order to mislead
authorities. I refuse to pledge allegiance because I've done it a
thousand times - and I'm sick of it.
I can see how a patriotic
WWII
hero would want everyone to continually declare their love of country,
but
let's not compound the Sept.11 tragedy by adding the Pledge of
Allegiance
to all the bureaucratically mandated tasks we Americans must already
endure. Repeatedly reciting the Pledge doesn't make us more patriotic
or love our country more. It would only be a victory for the
terrorists.
© April 2002 Oscar Falconi
NOW READ ABOUT MINNESOTA GOVERNOR JESSE VENTURA'S COURAGEOUS VETO OF
ABSURD LEGISLATION REQUIRING THE PLEDGE TO BE RECITED WEEKLY.
PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, May 22, 2002
To the Honorable Steve Sviggum
Speaker of the House
463 State Office Building
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
Dear Speaker Sviggum,
I have vetoed and am returning Chapter Number 391, House File Number 2598,
a bill requiring school pledge of allegiance recitation.
I am vetoing this bill because being able to express our love of our
country is an important freedom, and it's not one that I'm willing to
trust to the government. As a veteran, I served my country to protect
freedom, not just a symbol. A person gets from a symbol the meaning he
puts into it, and what is one man's comfort and inspiration is another's
jest and scorn.
Patriotism comes from the heart. If people really love their country, they
shouldn't have to be prompted by government to express their feelings. If
our own initiative isn't enough to express pride in our country, then
blame lies with us and not the government.
According to West Virginia
Board of Education v. Barnette, the action of the local authorities in
compelling the flag salute and pledge transcends constitutional
limitations on their power, and invades the sphere of intellect and spirit
which it is the purpose of the First Amendment to our Constitution to
reserve from all official control. Thus, the sole conflict is between
authority and the rights of individuals.
For these reasons, I vetoed this bill.
Sincerely,
Jesse Ventura
Governor