In a meeting on Wednesday night, Orange Coast College student trustees voted to ban the Pledge of Allegiance from their meetings, citing an incompatibility between nationwide submission to God and justice for all.
Student trustee Jason Bell explained his position to Reuters:
"That [under God] part is sort of offensive to me. I am an atheist and a socialist, and if you know your history, you know that 'under God' was inserted during the McCarthy era and was directly designed to destroy my ideology." Bell said the ban largely came about because the trustees didn't want to publicly vow loyalty to the American government before their meetings. "Loyalty ought to be something the government earns through performance, not through reciting a pledge."
McCarthyism, named for Joe McCarthy (see Good Night and Good Luck), ran from the late 40's to the late 50's. It was on Feb. 12, 1948, that Louis Bowman inserted "under god" into the pledge at a meeting of the Illinois Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, of which he was a board member. So Trustee Bell's got his time frame right.
The pledge was first published in 1892 in The Boy's Companion. As years went by, especially in the lead-up to World War II, there was an increasing demand for a flag salute statute to, you know, cement loyalty to Vespucci-land. 31 years later, in 1922, that pledge found its way into legislation through the Flag Code [Title 4, United States Code, Chapter 1]. In 1925 over 40,000 Ku Klux Klansmen marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. in support of this Flag Code.
What a lovely history lesson, one utterly lost on Christine Zolos, president of the Orange Coast College Republicans. Zolos told Reuters of her disapproval of the trustees' decision: "The fact that they have enough power to ban one of the most valued traditions in America is just horrible."
Most valued traditions, my lily-white ass. This is a tradition so valued that it's undergone change after update after revision in the scant 84 years it's been in common usage. Originally, the salute was a straight-armed, flat-palmed gesture, but in December 1942 Congress amended the Flag Code to the familiar hand-over-heart move so we wouldn't look like a bunch of Nazis. Klansmen and Nazis—these are a few of our favorite things?
Perhaps (no, certainly) I took things too seriously as a child, but I remember being painfully conflicted every single day of my grade school career--all thanks to that damn pledge. I was raised Secular Humanist; I didn't believe that I was under God. If I went ahead and said, "under god", I felt like a liar. If I kept quiet, I felt like an outcast. I wonder how all the little Buddhist kids in Irvine feel about submitting to God.
These days, though I understand why God might favor the missionary position, I wonder whether he'd like to be on the bottom every now and then.
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the serrach says:
and yeah, alex, i got it.
Posted on Friday, Nov. 10 2006 @ 8:11AM
the serrach says:
imagine all the "power".. the power to change the rules of a local community college meeting. awesome, isn't it. i think the only thing you might have missed on this story is that Christine Zolos is, apparently, a douche.
nice work alex.
Posted on Friday, Nov. 10 2006 @ 8:11AM
Paul Cook-Giles says:
Y'know, it's perfectly possible to recite the Pledge without using the 1954 addition; I do it all the time. (And I lead the Pledge on a pretty regular basis.) Mr. Bell is completely wrong on the meaning of the Pledge; it's to the Republic, not the current government.
Consider this about the Pledge from Mike Newdow: "It evokes feelings of patriotism and unity, and brings together the vastly different cultures, ethnicities, languages and backgrounds that form the common experience called America. It reaffirms our commitment to the freedoms guaranteed in our Constitution, and reflects the foundation of that amazing document: that diversity is a blessing which only strengthens our nation. This is especially true concerning religion, which the Framers recognized as uniquely divisive, causing them to set forth that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." Our Constitution forbids government from endorsing religious views, and those who choose not to believe in a deity should never be made to feel like "outsiders," as is now the case.
The words are "liberty and justice for all." The Pledge should be a unifying experience for every citizen. Placing a religious ideal into its midst is not right, and serves no purpose except to alter a purely patriotic tradition into one that satisfies the religious bent of the majority. That is exactly what the First Amendment was written to preclude." (www.restorethepledge.com)
Posted on Friday, Nov. 10 2006 @ 10:11AM
G. Jones says:
Vespucci-land? Wow, Alex, I knew you are older than you look but I can't believe you're old enough to be a Firesign Theatre fan. Shoes for Industry!
Posted on Friday, Nov. 10 2006 @ 10:11AM
Comandante Agi says:
I always thought I was pledging allegiance to a piece of red and blue cloth.
Posted on Friday, Nov. 10 2006 @ 11:11AM
beezoar says:
I could never figure out (in my yothful English - as -a - third language, but proud to be A-merkin days)who the hell this Richard Stands guy was...
Posted on Friday, Nov. 10 2006 @ 12:11PM
Alex Brant-Zawadzki says:
You mean "And To The Republic, For Richard Stands", I take it. (shudder)
I could never figure out how to reconcile "indivisible" with the Civil War.
Posted on Friday, Nov. 10 2006 @ 4:11PM
Comandante Agi says:
"I pledge allegiance to and wrap myself in the flag of the United States Against Anything Un-American and to the Republicans for which it stands, two nations, under Jesus, rich against poor, with curtailed liberty and justice for all except blacks, homosexuals, women who want abortions, Communists, welfare queens, treehuggers, feminazis, illegal immigrants, children of illegal immigrants, and you if you don't watch your step." - Matt Groening
Posted on Saturday, Nov. 11 2006 @ 7:11AM
Al Stensby says:
John McCain's remarks about the Pledge of Allegiance!
In light of the recent appeals court ruling in California , with
respect to the Pledge of Allegiance, the following recollection from
Senator John McCain is very appropriate:
"The Pledge of Allegiance" - by Senator John McCain
As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner
of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment,
the NVA kept us in solitary confinement
or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these
conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men
to a room.
This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a
direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few
hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.
One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike
Christian.
Mike came from a small town near Selma , Alabama .. He didn't
wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy.
He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School Then
he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in
1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this
country and our military provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.
As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some
prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were
handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing.
Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of
months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of his shirt.
Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang
Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance.
I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important
part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it
was indeed the most important and meaningful event.
One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did
periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it.
That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all of us, beat Mike
Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the
door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could.
The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on
which we slept Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room.
As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After
the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and
sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth,
another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He
was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had
received, making another American flag. He was not making the flag
because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag
because he knew how important it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.
So the next time you say the Pledge of
Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that
thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote
freedom around the world.
You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Posted on Saturday, Nov. 11 2006 @ 12:11PM
Only in costa mesa says:
The students attending Adams elementary are greeted with christian music every morning followed by the pledge and a yankee doodle sing-a-long.
Thanks to Principal Candy Cloud, the annual mountain trip is now conveniently located on a christian camp site near Lake Arrowhead, where students are subjected to a moment of silence (prayer) before every meal.
Posted on Saturday, Nov. 11 2006 @ 1:11PM
Alex B-Z says:
Al;
McCain's an American hero but that does not mean he can't act like a royal king-kong douchebag when he wants to. Like when he served up Kerry with a side of fried rice after Johnny-boy flubbed a joke about how Bush's general ignorance as well as lack of specific knowledge about Iraq has led us into a deadly quagmire, one that is not only disrespectful to our troops but is killing thousands of them.
I believe the armed forces were there before the pledge; I believe the flag was there before the pledge; I believe I can revere both our soldiers and our flag and still think the pledge has serious flaws. And McCain too.
Posted on Saturday, Nov. 11 2006 @ 6:11PM
G. Jones says:
Mr. Stensby, McCain's story is a wonderful one but it doesn't speak to the point at hand. Many people who love to say the Pledge object to the inclusion in it of the words "under god."
Which god? Whose god?
If that McCarthy-era phrase were removed those who object to the Pledge, including the OCC student trustees, would cease their criticism.
Posted on Sunday, Nov. 12 2006 @ 9:11AM
Jimbo Hawaii says:
Offer an alternative to uniting our country and I might agree with getting rid of the Pledge of Allegiance. The Muslims do indeed have an alternative: teach your children to hate--especially the US and Israel--when they are young. Seems to have worked very well for them, hence we've had 9/11. They have plegded more death to come with their own style of allegiance. Death to you that defend their right to kill us.
As an Honorably Discharged Combat Veteran I also defend the right to burn our flag in protest; we fought for those rights. I do not want to see any rights taken away, ever. I also believe that it should only be a petty misdemeanor to knock the snot out of anyone that desecrates the flag.
Posted on Monday, Nov. 13 2006 @ 8:11PM
Alex Brant-Zawadzki says:
Jimbo;
One of my points was that the pledge does not in fact unite America. As long as it contains "under god" then it functions to divide some of us. Like me. In this great nation of ours, church and state are supposedly separate. Why begin to instill the opposite of this sentiment into our children?
God is not a part of America. The flag, however, is. Keep the pledge, lose the subservience to God.
And I don't think assault and battery will ever fit under the auspices of "freedom of expression" but you're welcome to give it a shot. But as you're a man of honor I suspect you'll practice restraint.
Posted on Monday, Nov. 13 2006 @ 9:11PM
Lisa says:
Alex--let me just say that in my opinion, I would much rather have Jimbo Hawaii defending me and our country rather than you with your liberal biased tendencies (read: wimp).
Posted on Tuesday, Nov. 14 2006 @ 10:11AM
Alex B-Z says:
Lisa-
To be fair, I once tried to defend you and our country by enlisting in the Marines. Sadly, my wimpiness was the least of their concerns. CLICK HERE TO READ.
Posted on Tuesday, Nov. 14 2006 @ 1:11PM
Lisa says:
Alex, at least you gave it a try so I commend you for that. And I read that story before but didn't even think that you and him were the same person. :)
Posted on Tuesday, Nov. 14 2006 @ 2:11PM
the serrach says:
"Death to you that defend their right to kill us."
read: "i'm a nutjob"
please stay in hawaii crazy man.
Posted on Thursday, Nov. 16 2006 @ 11:11AM
Orange County Weekly - The Blotter » Buttress: Not a Female Butt says:
[...] I personally enjoyed that post–not only was I able to mock God's sexual techniques, but I also received my first oblique death threat. But Harman wasn't enjoying much–unless he enjoys disgracefulness. "It is disgraceful that the students at Orange Coast publicly denounced the Pledge of Allegiance," remarked Harman. "Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is one way we remember our nation's founding principles. [...]
Posted on Friday, Nov. 17 2006 @ 1:11AM
Old Glory says:
It's not about the pledge.
It's about the USA.
At the student Government meeting Monday one of the Student Trustees explained why they were opposed to the flag.
He said it's because "The Flag Represents Genocide."
Do you think that is OK?
Posted on Wednesday, Nov. 22 2006 @ 11:11PM
Star Spangle says:
At a meeting of Student Government, one of the Student Trustees explained the reason for opposing the flag. He said: "The Flag Represents Genocide"
Posted on Thursday, Nov. 23 2006 @ 3:11PM