Quote:
Originally posted by AXJules
What about removing the words "under God"? I mean, still controversial but at least we're not destroying something that we should be proud to say.
There are people in this country who are Atheist, Christian, Jewish, etc....whatever, that's their own deal. People don't live in America because of it's religious affiliation- you can be anything here. But people who bitch and don't want to say the Pledge of Allegiance b/c they don't agree with it......it's about being loyal to your country. If you don't agree with it, then WHY ARE YOU HERE????
I don't know maybe its a double standard or something but it pisses me off.
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I think removing the words "under God" would remove much of the controversy, but by no means all of it. (And in some Bible-thumping regions of the country, suggesting that they remove "under God" from the Pledge causes more controversy than just suggesting they outlaw the Pledge from schools altogether!) Let's say you just moved here from Japan -- your parents were recruited to work at a job here because they excelled in a field where experts were needed. You come to a country where you speak little of the language, you know nobody, you hate the food -- and you walk into your first class of the day and they expect you to pledge your undying love for this country before you even sit down? Or what about foreign exchange students -- surely we can't expect them to say the Pledge and mean it?
Not everybody in America loves America to death all of the time, and that is (and should be) perfectly within their rights. My biggest problem with the Pledge of Allegiance is that it basically implies that I think that this country is always right and that I stand by every decision our government makes, which is certainly not true. I love America, but I don't love everything about it, I don't love every decision the government makes and I don't always love the things my country does. I think that it's important to question things, and the Pledge's "blind faith" brand of loyalty just doesn't fit my beliefs.