Every once in a while I deviate from hip hop here, and this is one of those moments. Last week, I wrote this piece for the Huffington Post on the pledge of allegiance–a ritual that I really wish would go away. I think if more people knew the history and motivations behind the pledge, they’d think twice about letting their kids recite it in school, so my goal here is to provide that history–and of course a little commentary along the way.
The readers at Huff Post were largely supportive in their comments, but as I expected, I got some of the angry stuff too. I also got a couple of really angry emails after I appeared on the Michael Medved show to discuss this issue…
Hey this post really got me thinking about some things. Alot of the things that we accept in our society are totally opposite of what the founding fathers set out for. I have learned about the true power that the American citizens use to exercise via protest and boycotts but now its as though people are totally passive. By the way this is Donnell from Kevin Powell’s going away dinner party at Addis Ethiopian restaurant. Hope to read more of your writing keep up the good work.
Hey Donnell–Great to hear from you. And I agree–we accept lots of things that we don’t fully understand. I am less interested in what the founding fathers would’ve wanted and more interested in what makes for a fair and just society. I’m not sure the founding fathers fully understood what that would mean in 2013! Regardless, I don’t think the pledge of allegiance does anything other than train kids to uncritically pledge their loyalty to their country, and God, when they are unprepared to understand what they are saying…
Our nation has become what our forefathers didnt want us to become. That is a society that is ran by government and not the people. We cannot compair the laws written back then and try to make them comply and fit in with today’s society.