I saw this news story today and I had to comment. A student trustee group of a California Community College has banned the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of their meetings. They specifically had issue with two things: 1) recognizing God and 2) Pledging Allegience to the US Government.
It is kind of an interesting story. Apparently, according to Reuters, "The move was led by three recently elected student trustees, who ran for office wearing revolutionary-style berets and said they do not believe in publicly swearing an oath to the American flag and government at their school." Oh, and by the way they are self proclaimed "socialists."
It always interests me as I watch students rebel but not understand what they are rebelling against. Having the libertarian bent in me, I am all for not "requiring" people to recite the pledge, but reading this article makes me chuckle a bit as I read how misguided both sides are.
First, to the would be socialists on the trustee board. Socialism is an economic system, not a political system. It is basically the opposite of capitalism (another economic system), it doesn't support individual ownership, recognition or reward. It, instead, suggests that society, as a collective group, owns assets and distributes wealth evenly to members of that society, regardless of input. The political system that is most often associated with socialism is communism. Communism, as a political system, seeks to use socialism as it economic engine to establish a classless state (classless meaning everyone is equal). Compare to the United States, which uses a Republican (a form of democracy) political system employing a capitalist economic engine to establish a society held together by common values (of which one is individualism).
So, by saying you are a socialist, you are really making a statement about your economic preferences not govermental. So pick an icon of the economic system of this country to protest. The flag isn't it, Wall Street or the Federal Reserve is more appropriate, but that is too hard. Maybe you should stop reading the Wall Street Journal or refuse to sell it in the campus book store.
Second, and this is probably the thing that bugs me the most, the flag is not the symbol of our government. It is the symbol of an Idea. The American Idea. The home of the free. It is the very symbol that protects your right to question the government. It is not THE government.
Of course, all this silliness is not limited to the misguided efforts of these three students to make a political statement. In the article, one protester stood up and shouted the pledge anyway and was later quoted as saying "The fact that they have enough power to ban one of the most valued traditions in America is just horrible." I admire her passion (just as I admire the passion of our "socialists") but her outrage is also misguided. First, reciting the pledge doesn't make you more American than the citizens of this nation that can't even recite it or refuse to recognize it. Second, just because something is a tradition doesn't make it right. After all, slavery was a "tradition" in this country.
We should all be so passionate about the things that matter. Things like poverty, health care, perserving our right to vote and peace. The pledge is a throw back to times when our society depended on outward acknowledgement of its place in our hearts and minds. A time when we were still establishing our role in the world. A time when were still viewed as a country of immigrants. That time has passed. Now is the time we proclaim our Americanism with our actions not our words. That is how we pursue Liberty and Justice for All!
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