ah, semantics (more on the pledge)

[chanteuse thalia chaunacy]

having not known about said case (father vs national anthem) i assumed 
his children were being forced to say 'under god' which really really 
irks me, as it does most of us. so we were saying the same thing, just 
really back-asswards of each other. ;) thank you for not smacking me. :)

read on if you want to hear me debate about the rest of it. delete if you 
don't. i'll never know. :)

(all quotes from anna)

> I also feel that the phrasing should be changed. <

which phrasing? 'god' to 'good'? or did i miss something?

> Now, do his rights as an athiest overide mine because I want to say the 
pledge? I don't feel that they do, but he does have a point. Who then, 
decides the fate of the pledge? (er, rhetorical question?)<

first off, i really don't know about him being an atheist. i'd rather 
that wasn't such a quick assumption. could be just concerned about choice 
and freedom, like the rest of us.

second, the fate of the pledge? people will always say it. the fate of 
the pledge in schools, on the other hand...ah, read on.

> As Steve said, we all have the right to choose and make decisions for
ourselves and our families (love the USA), and yes, things like religion 
or lack there of should be taught in the home/church/place of worship, 
etc., and not in schools. <

er, then the pledge really *shouldn't* say anything about god.

while i'm on it, why is it a school's function to make kids recite the 
pledge in the first place? anna's theory follows...

> But have we gotten so politically correct that we can't even function
 in the world? That we can't teach our children to make decisions on  
their own regarding things like religious beliefs?  Maybe I'm weird, but 
I embrace all other religions, and to that, all different type of people, 
and want my children to learn about them, so that they can see for 
themselves what this world is about. And from this, I expect them to make 
their own decisions one day regarding their own beliefs, either in God or 
the next space ship. (no offense to those of you who believe in space 
ships). And, after all, isn't this what going to school all about, to 
learn about life and apply it to your own? <

then, logically, kids should learn the pledge as a unit in history, and 
perhaps memorize it as homework, and say it whenever there's an proper 
opportunity. the daily group ritual sanctioned (and sometimes enforced) 
by the administration--logically--has no place in school.

please realize, folks, this is not an attack on the pledge. 

oh, and to whomever referenced the Handmaid's Tale--that book changed my 
life, hands down. i was going to mention it when i first joined this 
fray, but i didn't want to sound like a nerd. ;)

thalia 'smart is sexy' chaunacy

--
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