Comments on: Freedom of Religion? Most Americans Don’t Buy It

By: groovyjoss

groovyjoss — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:55:28 +0000

I knew a kid who was a US citizen, but she lived in australia from when she was 6months to 7years old and was a naturalised australian. She didn’t like saying the pledge (at a public school) so she stood up, but didn’t say it. If the teacher called her on it she just made up an excuse like she had lost her voice or something.
She is a christian, she just didn’t like the idea of pledging allegiance to the flag (or the US in general). Also I think she disagreed with the idea that the US is a nation under God. Clearly the president of the US does not consult god when making decisions, except for maybe the god of mammon.
When I was in the US the pledge really really creeped me out. a whole room full of people standing up, turning the the big-arse flag on the wall, hand over heart, reciting. I think the scariest thing was not the emotion that went into it, but the fact that teenagers did it, with emotion. To me teenagers are the ones who should be rebelling against that stuff. Mixing up the words to say rude things, but none of them did. Scary stuff.

By: Paige Aran

Paige Aran — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:54:34 +0000

I’m a fairly spiritual person (read: “non-denominational” pagan nutter) and while I didn’t come to my own little hodge-podge belief system til my late teens / early twenties, the whole damn pledge upsets me. Once I started middle school, I refused to recite the pledge. My teachers informed me that I HAD to at least stand, out of respect. I also refused. It nearly led to my expulsion…from a PUBLIC SCHOOL. How absurd…is it so wrong if a pre-teen doesn’t find it acceptable to pledge themselves to anything?

Maybe I sound like a bitter bitch, but I find it highly disturbing. It’s one form (albeit, a minor one) of brainwashing children. I frankly do not feel any need to pledge myself to this country, and I did not back then either.

So how about this: instate universal health care (that actually covers transgender health issues!), allow people to marry whomever they damn well please, and actually treat the murder of gay, bisexual, and transgender people appropriately, instead of half-assing it or ignoring the situation altogether, and perhaps I’ll pledge myself to the government. In the meantime, I’ll show my support for my community by doing what I always do: being a decent human being.

By: sarah von

sarah von — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:16:03 +0000

Honestly, I think a lot of non-Americans first-worlders find the fact that we pledge at all a bit weird. I never gave it a second thought growing up, but once I started to travel it was something that people were always asking me about … well, after they asked me if I ate McDonalds everyday and if I owned an SUV.

By: Dollface

Dollface — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:07:58 +0000

Thanks for your comments, guys.

@ NOT — Interesting idea, I like it.

@ Jackie — That’s true, even the rest of the pledge makes me feel like a drone or a patriotic zombie. Yeah, the other funny thing about the pledge was that it was created in the 1800′s…it has NOTHING to do with our founding fathers OR the constitution.

@ Lena — I’m not a fan of saluting either. It’s nice to hear I wasn’t the only one sitting down.

@ LOL — This may be true. Either way, why should we make them say God instead of Allah. A translation still doesn’t cut it.

@ Dolly — Great comment. I will be posting the part 2 in the series on Monday. I promise!

@ Mermaid — I have seen Jesus Camp! It’s TERRIFYING.

By: mermaid

mermaid — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:51:59 +0000

have you seen jesus camp?
i just saw it a couple weeks ago, and everything about religion reminds me of it (including this post).
i’m scared to death of organized religion.

By: dollyann

dollyann — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:40:56 +0000

Okay, I totally sympathize with your experience of feeling singled out and alone in your elementary school class, but I love the idea of replacing “under God” with “under frog!” What a creative kid you were, dollface! ;)

Seriously though, as a Buddhist it kind of weirds me out that every kid in the United States has to say “under God,” because, like you, I don’t believe in any god. Makes me feel like I’m not a true American for not being able to honestly say the Pledge of Allegiance. And it especially freaks me out because I know the God these kids are “supposed” to be thinking of is white, male, and bearded–a *Christian* god. And while the fact that so many people are opposed to taking the words “under God” out doesn’t surprise me (people resist change after all, even when they know it’s good), it still disturbs me. It makes me wonder, when will it change?

Yay for more posting, dollface, but when am I going to see part 2 in the “Why I’m a feminist” series? *Prods you with a poky stick*

By: LOL

LOL — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:54:47 +0000

according to the muslims their god is the same as the christian and jewish god. the word that you used in the article “allah” translates to god in arabic so even arab christians use the world allah to refer to ‘god’.

By: lena

lena — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:14:46 +0000

I was one of those kids too who didn’t say it. We were never forced to say it, but we were forced to stand while everyone else said it and to take our hats off if we had any.

I’m just glad we no longer have to do the Bellamy salute. I’m not a big fan of saluting.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:53:55 +0000

My dad is a fan of Rush Limbaugh. And, whenever I say something remotely liberal, my dad quotes Rush Limbaugh. *headdesk*

I’m all for patriotism too, but I always felt like a drone pledging allegiance to the flag. So, I would stand up and put my hand over my heart, but I wouldn’t say anything. I think my teacher said something to me once, but I just kind of ignored her. My classmates never mocked me either.

I thought “One nation under God” was in always in the pledge, I didn’t realize it was added in during the 1950s. Lame.

By: NOT

NOT — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:17:18 +0000

I think it is more important to change the word “flag” to “constitution”. Then take any reference of a deity out.