the pledge of allegiance

[kilroy69 993]

I am going to say something crazy. The pledge of allegiance makes me uneasy as an adult? As a kid it is just something you do. As an adult watching a class full of kids robotically recite a pledge to a flag is actually kinda creepy to me. I am not being anti American by any means but if we showed a bunch of kids in North Korea doing this everyone would laugh about how brainwashed the entire nation is and how they start doing it young. 

 

Anyone else have a problem with this as an adult or am I just turning into a commie pinko bastard in my old age?

[NorthernVike 2,079]

Fock you commie. 

[kilroy69 993]

1 hour ago, NorthernVike said:

Fock you commie. 

Fair enough. 

[Cdub100 3,366]

6 minutes ago, kilroy69 said:

I am going to say something crazy. The pledge of allegiance makes me uneasy as an adult? As a kid it is just something you do. As an adult watching a class full of kids robotically recite a pledge to a flag is actually kinda creepy to me. I am not being anti American by any means but if we showed a bunch of kids in North Korea doing this everyone would laugh about how brainwashed the entire nation is and how they start doing it young. 

 

Anyone else have a problem with this as an adult or am I just turning into a commie pinko bastard in my old age?

It makes you feel uneasy because the programming is working. 

[cmh6476 748]

Recited it this morning at Rotary

[edjr 5,547]

Never liked it as a kid, don't like it now. Stoopid.  

Something they do in North Korea. Forcing kids to recite sh1t. 

Want your kids to be forced to do sh1t, send them to catholic school

[GutterBoy 2,277]

I had this realization years ago when my son was going through scouts.  It's pretty weird but I don't think we should abandon it.

[kilroy69 993]

1 hour ago, GutterBoy said:

I had this realization years ago when my son was going through scouts.  It's pretty weird but I don't think we should abandon it.

I am not saying we should cancel the pledge. I don't know. It just seems so freaking odd to me. The act and the words. 

[GutterBoy 2,277]

Just now, kilroy69 said:

I am not saying we should cancel the pledge. I don't know. It just seems so freaking odd to me. The act and the words. 

I agree, it is weird, the whole act of standing and reciting.

Same with Church, the whole idea of standing and reciting.

It's like brainwashing.

[edjr 5,547]

2 minutes ago, GutterBoy said:

I agree, it is weird, the whole act of standing and reciting.

Same with Church, the whole idea of standing and reciting.

It's like brainwashing.

Nailed it.  Not like it. it IS it. 

[Utilit99 4,099]

55 minutes ago, edjr said:

Never liked it as a kid, don't like it now. Stoopid.  

Something they do in North Korea. Forcing kids to recite sh1t. 

Want your kids to be forced to do sh1t, send them to catholic school

Nearly 300,000 people died in the US in WW2. This country fought for the freedom of the world. 

So no, not "stoopid"

[kilroy69 993]

1 hour ago, Utilit99 said:

Nearly 300,000 people died in the US in WW2. This country fought for the freedom of the world. 

So no, not "stoopid"

I get that they fought. Had one grandpa in WW2, one in Korea. My stepdad was in vietnam. That being said. I just find it so strange. 

[Hardcore troubadour 12,585]

Then don’t say it. What’s the issue? 

[Mike Honcho 4,009]

26 minutes ago, Utilit99 said:

Nearly 300,000 people died in the US in WW2. This country fought for the freedom of the world. 

So no, not "stoopid"

[JustinCharge 2,397]

1 hour ago, kilroy69 said:

I am not saying we should cancel the pledge. I don't know. It just seems so freaking odd to me. The act and the words. 

The pledge is critical in order to help foster a sense of unity, cohesiveness and shared purpose in the culture.  The left wants to destroy unity, so obviously the pledge is bad.  They want little kids to grow up focusing on their differences to shatter unity so its all about personal pronouns, sexual orientation, eliminating uniforms etc.

Of course, if they can destroy the Constitution and install themselves as dictators, the left would reverse course and reinstate a pledge, eliminate personal pronouns, ignore all the genders but 2, bring back uniforms etc.  Because at that point it would be THEIR country that they OWN and they no longer need subversives.

[GutterBoy 2,277]

1 minute ago, JustinCharge said:

The pledge is critical in order to help foster a sense of unity, cohesiveness and shared purpose in the culture.

How's that working out?

[edjr 5,547]

1 hour ago, Utilit99 said:

Nearly 300,000 people died in the US in WW2. This country fought for the freedom of the world. 

So no, not "stoopid"

You sound like one of those liberals whining and pretending to be offended for someone else. Was the war tough on you? Do you have PTSD?

[JustinCharge 2,397]

7 minutes ago, GutterBoy said:

How's that working out?

It works but they are trying to destroy the pledge.  You can be certain if it was a communist pledge, you'd get cancelled for kneeling.  It would get branded terrorism if you knelt or supported kneelers.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,585]

1 minute ago, edjr said:

You sound like one of those liberals whining and pretending to be offended for someone else. Was the war tough on you? Do you have PTSD?

Showing gratitude sounds like that? Is anyone pointing fingers and demanding stuff? It’s nothing like that. Tell the kid not to say it if he doesn’t want to. He wouldn’t be the first.  

[Hardcore troubadour 12,585]

8 minutes ago, GutterBoy said:

How's that working out?

Fine up until now. 

[edjr 5,547]

1 minute ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Showing gratitude sounds like that? Is anyone pointing fingers and demanding stuff? It’s nothing like that. Tell the kid not to say it if he doesn’t want to. He wouldn’t be the first.  

Should always show gratitude to your elders. "Thank you for your service Sir"  that is gratitude. Not forcing kids to stand and sing in school.

[JustinCharge 2,397]

1 minute ago, edjr said:

Should always show gratitude to your elders. "Thank you for your service Sir"  that is gratitude. Not forcing kids to stand and sing in school.

Jesus Christ.  Kids need discipline and shared purpose.  Standing and singing is good stuff for them.  The only reason the left argues against it is that they want to destroy this nation.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,585]

2 minutes ago, edjr said:

Should always show gratitude to your elders. "Thank you for your service Sir"  that is gratitude. Not forcing kids to stand and sing in school.

They aren’t forced. Tell him to sit it out. No big deal.  

[edjr 5,547]

Just now, JustinCharge said:

Jesus Christ.  Kids need discipline and shared purpose.  Standing and singing is good stuff for them.

 Yeah. I want public school discipling my son with standing and singing. Did such a great job with me   GTFO out of here

[edjr 5,547]

FWIW. I just asked him if he does the pledge of allegiance, he said "ya"  I said do you like it he said "no"  I said do all the kids do it "he said no, the teacher doesn't notice"

[Utilit99 4,099]

2 minutes ago, edjr said:

FWIW. I just asked him if he does the pledge of allegiance, he said "ya"  I said do you like it he said "no"  I said do all the kids do it "he said no, the teacher doesn't notice"

Current today teachers don't give a shlt about anything other than themselves.

[edjr 5,547]

6 minutes ago, Utilit99 said:

Current today teachers don't give a shlt about anything other than themselves.

Not true for all. But at the end of the day, it is a job, right? does everyone love their job and care about everyone they work with?

 

[Hardcore troubadour 12,585]

5 minutes ago, edjr said:

Not true for all. But at the end of the day, it is a job, right? does everyone love their job and care about everyone they work with?

 

Most. 

[Utilit99 4,099]

21 minutes ago, edjr said:

Not true for all. But at the end of the day, it is a job, right? does everyone love their job and care about everyone they work with?

 

Yes. Not true for all. There are a few good teachers out there.

But, teachers are not coworkers with the children. The kids being well educated are the deliverables they signed up for when they took the jobs.

[GutterBoy 2,277]

43 minutes ago, Utilit99 said:

Current today teachers don't give a shlt about anything other than themselves.

Most people today only care about themselves.

[TBayXXXVII 2,105]

1 minute ago, GutterBoy said:

Most people today only care about themselves.

True, but supposedly, teachers are paid specifically to care about the kids.

[Utilit99 4,099]

12 minutes ago, TBayXXXVII said:

True, but supposedly, teachers are paid specifically to care about the kids.

It's the job description and what they should be held accountable for. 

[Fireballer 2,369]

There has to be some unity towards love of country to have the "rising tide raises all boats" effect.  The left hates the unity because the more we are divided and confused, the easier it is for them to hoard power.  I think the pledge just reminds us of the required unity to have a functioning republic that is good for all.

[avoiding injuries 1,220]

I particularly hate the “liberty and justice for all” line. 

[Devil’s Advocate 1]

The pledge has a patriotic meaning to me. I can see how some may view it as a military/dictator thing like North Korea. 

[Hardcore troubadour 12,585]

2 minutes ago, avoiding injuries said:

I particularly hate the “liberty and justice for all” line. 

Just horrible. Poor kids. 

[frank 2,144]

7 hours ago, avoiding injuries said:

I particularly hate the “liberty and justice for all” line. 

Kill em all?

[jerryskids 5,169]

As somebody above said, kids (heck, all people) like to belong to a group.  It is why so many kids join gangs or, lately, associate with a made-up gender.  Most countries, I’d guess every other country, is more homogeneous than the US.  Some much more so.  They associate with their country as a proxy as their tribe.  People here think it is whitey against the world.  Go to Europe:  Finns don’t like Swedes, French hate Germans.  

We’re a big old melting pot of crap from everywhere.  Something like the Pledge helps to create that common unity among a bunch of disparate people from different ethnicities.

Kids also like structure and respond well to it.  Part of the reason my style of taekwondo was so successful with kids is because it gave them structure.  Walk into the studio, bow, say the little saying of the month about integrity or similar, put your shoes here, your bag there, sit on this line just like so, quietly, and wait for your class to start.  Works like a charm.

[Gepetto 977]

I thought this as a kid while doing it in grade school.

[Voltaire 4,554]

11 hours ago, avoiding injuries said:

I particularly hate the “liberty and justice for all” line. 

I’m like what that stuff use to mean ... recently “indivisible” is where I am getting shaky. I was always fine since I interpreted it’s presence as a subtle dig at 1860s era Confederates, but now that I want a red/blue divorce, it’s become a harder concept to deal with.