I Pledge Allegiance
WWH – I would pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, but alas, I cannot. Certainly I cannot make a pledge that includes the phrase, “under God,” (added in 1954 while the country was in the midst of some inexplicable religious fervor) because I believe the phrase violates the separation of Church and State and is an affront to me personally on many levels.
In addition, we are no longer a nation indivisible, but a nation incredibly divisive… in rhetoric, philosophy, and economics. As far as liberty and justice for all, it no longer exists. It exists only for the greedy uberwealthy who are systematically deconstructing the very pillars of society and the foundations of a Democracy OF, FOR and BY the PEOPLE… not the handful of PLUTOCRATS who think only of themselves and never about the greater, the common, good.
Some of you may ask if I feel so strongly about the misdeeds of our politicians and corporate ruling class, and the misdirection of our domestic and foreign policies, why don’t I get the hell out?
I guess there are many answers to that question. Probably the most important one is that I could never abandon my brothers and sisters during these days of turmoil. Imagine how ineffective the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings would have been if there had been no solidarity and an incredible display of perseverance and strength of conviction?
Another reason (from which I derive a modicum of comfort) is that as a student of history, I realize that in the grand scheme of things, the United States of America is a mere blip on the vital signs monitor of civilizations. We may even set a speed record for the rate at which our health declines from a first-rate country to a second-rate one. Oops! I think we just made it to second-rate! I can already see us, historically, in the ICU, and would not be surprised if we flat line in the near future unless drastic measures are taken that will require the solidarity and conviction of all of us who know what is truly happening.
Therein lays an enormous problem: too few people in this country truly understand what is happening. Too many people have succumbed to the lies of the media and the spin of politicians. Too many fall for fear mongering tactics, or the false promises of Wall Street’s American Dream Pie of which you, too, may have a tart slice if you work hard, keep your nose to the grindstone, obey the law, never question authority, and have the luck of a Powerball lottery winner.
The cruelest irony is that the last nail in the coffin of our Democracy might be blamed on the misuse of language, concepts, and labels, and the inability of our undereducated, or perhaps just lazy, populace who do not think for themselves or understand the true definition of words which have been co-opted by people like Tea Partiers, Republicans, the Koch brothers and the remaining 400 individuals who hold as much wealth as half the rest of our nation combined!
It only takes a couple of generations, for the youngest generation to think their world was always the way it appears to them in the present. A perfect example is the fact that so many young people voted Republican, state-wide and nation-wide, in the midterm elections, I would say motivated by a combination of fear and greed.
These youngsters were not around to remember the devastation of the Vietnam War. Too many are complacent about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, we have mercenaries posing as “contractors” to do the fighting for us. Get rid of the contractors, bring back the draft, and I bet they would suddenly be interested; suddenly believe that war is obsolete!
Too many fall under the spell of Doublespeak and believe that a person like me, who lives
exclusively on Social Security, is preventing them from becoming rich! Most do not understand the contributions that unionism has given to democracy: child labor laws, the 8-hr work day, worker’s compensation, health and retirement benefits, a living wage, the only counterbalance to corporate tyranny, and thereby the creation of a thriving, healthy middle class. Some of the children of this middle class have an unwarranted feeling of “entitlement” though they have yet to contribute much to their own social security while I have worked hard since I was 14 and probably will not take out as much as I have contributed. I am entitled! They are not. Not yet. Not until they realize they are being duped to vote against their own self-interests by a ruling class that creates scapegoats out of the innocent and rewards the greedy and guilty.
I will admit that now and then, especially since I do see the sun slowly setting on my life, how nice it would be to go on a long vacation of undetermined length to a place where the cares of the world disappear, where all needs are met, and where a feeling of security envelops you at all times.
Is there such a place? If so, where is it? And can I bring all my brothers and sisters along with me? I was hoping it would be right here! That the United States would mature into that place where all the rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” would be more than mere words and “equality and justice for all” would indeed be the rule and not the exception.
Pledging one’s allegiance is supposedly a sign of patriotism and nationalism. In the United States, patriotism and nationalism are really only forms of chauvinism, shouting to the world, against all evidence to the contrary, that we are number one; that we are the best. We will never make any progress in solving our problems until we admit we are an empire in steep decline. The rest of the world already knows it. It’s time for us to wake up! Wake up and remember that this country was founded by dissenters, not by evangelicals who speak in tongues or conservative extremists.
I therefore pledge my allegiance to the worldwide hippie values of peace, love, social and economic justice for all, and respect for the Earth. When the United States adopts these principles, I shall be happy to declare my allegiance to its flag.
To contact Phil or find out more: check out his website and blog
For a copy of HUNGA DUNGA
Phil Polizatto is a graduate of The School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. He was a feature writer for the overseas division of UPI, a copywriter for CBS, and an award-winning corporate film producer. Mr. Polizatto is a published poet and a regular contributor to Worldwide Hippies as well as a variety of other arts and literary journals. Hunga Dunga is his first published novel. He resides in the Pacific Northwest.
Love it. You speak the truth here, as always. A good wake-up call!
Good points well put.
The government’s inscription of the phrase “In God we trust” on coins and currency, as well as its addition of the words “under God” to the pledge of allegiance in 1954 and adoption of the phrase “In God we trust” as a national motto in 1956, were mistakes, which should be corrected. Under our Constitution, the government has no business proclaiming that “we trust” “In God.” Some of us do, and some of us don’t; each of us enjoys the freedom to make that choice; the government does not and should not purport to speak for us in this regard. Nor does the government have any business calling on its citizens to voice affirmation of a god in any circumstances, let alone in the very pledge the government prescribes for affirming allegiance to the country. The unnecessary insertion of an affirmation of a god in the pledge puts atheists and other nonbelievers in a Catch 22: Either recite the pledge with rank hypocrisy or accept exclusion from one of the basic rituals of citizenship enjoyed by all other citizens. The government has no business forcing citizens to this choice on religious grounds, and it certainly has no business assembling citizens’ children in public schools and prescribing their recitation of the pledge–affirmation of a god and all–as a daily routine.
But that’s just me talking. The courts, on the other hand, have sometimes found ways to excuse such things, for instance with the explanation that they are more about acknowledging tradition than promoting religion per se. Draining the government’s nominally religious statements or actions of religious meaning (or at least purporting to do so) and discounting them as non-religious ritual–sometimes dubbed “ceremonial deism”–is one way the courts have sometimes found them not to conflict with the First Amendment. Ordinary folks, though, commonly see things quite differently; when most read “[i]n God we trust,” they think the Government is actually declaring that “we” as a people actually “trust” the actual “God” they believe in. If they truly understood it as merely a ritualistic phrase devoid of religious meaning, they would hardly get as exercised as they do about proposals to drop it. As you can imagine, those more interested in championing their religion than the constitutional principle of separation of church and state sometimes seek to exploit and expand such “exceptions” even if it requires they fake interest only in tradition.
one of these days i think we are all going to hear a knock at our door.
at least i’ll be in interesting company! : )
@Doug: Fantastic comment, filled with great information. Thank you for expanding on my article… you brought up so many important points which cannot and should not be ignored. I love the concept of “ceremonial deism.” To what lengths will some go to thwart the intention of our constitution? That phrase is a great example of the doublespeak with which the Right seems so fluent. Be vigilant and bust them at every chance! Really enjoyed and learned from you. Thanks.
@Sherry: If we have to be detained, I hope its Guantanamo. I always wanted to visit Cuba! A cell with a view of the beach, perhaps?
Good article as usual. Thanks for putting the current U.S. mess in perspective.