CNN QuickVote: Pledge of Allegiance

[derby378]

Just go to the main page and vote on whether you think the current Pledge should be recited in public schools:

http://www.cnn.com

[FlashHarry]

1. That's a loaded question.

The issue isn't whether or not the pledge per se is unconstitutional, it's whether or not the addition of the words under God are unconstitutional. (I believe they are)

No wonder it's 82% NO.

[kixot]

2. Why are people so attached to that archaic garbage?

I mean, what good does it really do, anyway?

[jmowreader]

6. It does no good whatsoever

It is, however, as close to a prayer as you can get in the public schools.

[Wickerman]

3. wow

whole lotta freepin' going on - or, whole lotta people who've never thought through the issue

[WillParkinson]

4. As always, not a fair question...

I think it should ask, "As now written".

[derby378]

5. That's what I meant

...when I used the words current pledge in my post.

Me, I like Francis Bellamy's original version just fine. Let's adopt that one instead. ;-)

[TheBlob]

12. This is what the exact wording of the poll is:

"Do you think having children recite the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional?"

This to me is beyond a loaded question, it completely misrepresents the issue at hand.

CNN couldn't be more transparent.

[LittleApple81]

7. That is a stupid question! The main problem is not the pledge it is the

MENTION OF GOD THAT WAS ADDED IN THE EISENHOWER YEARS.

I am not pro-pledge either but this questions was terribly written and designed to get the results they did.

[mumon]

9. No, actually the main problem IS the pledge itself.

It's a loyalty oath. Why are we indoctrinating children to accept as "normal" a pledge of loyalty to...to what? "To the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands..."

To a government.

Uh, folks, the government should pledge allegiance to us - not the other way around.

We are the folks from whom consent must be given for the government to be legitimate. We don't "owe" allegiance to the government- they owe allegiance to us.

It is reprehensible to have this taught in schools.

[UnAmericanJoe]

10. Well Said Kanzeon

I agree with your position 100 percent.

[LittleApple81]

15. actually, under this light, the pledge is a problem too. I stand

corrected. Thanks for that statement.

[Cornus]

18. Thank you Kanzeon...

...for clarifying for me what it is that I've always believed: "the government should pledge allegiance to us - not the other way around."

[Must_B_Free]

8. I picked the wrong one - got tricked

too many negatives in that question...

Should have been "do you support the pledge of allegiance Yes or No."

[ixion]

11. ack... has nothing to do with what people think... it's a concept known as

Separation of Chruch and State and people should just accept that, lest we become a theocracy. :eyes:

[0007]

13. "under one God"

Kind of makes it plain that the two go together in the minds of some! Church & State that is, 'eh?

[A_Tra]

14. ^^It

never says under one God

[dofus]

16. The Pledge of Allegiance

is a very fascist kind of thing. Europeans tend to be flabbergasted when they first come across it. Think about it. Allegiance to a FLAG? Okay, so the phrase "And to the country for which it stands" does come immediately after, but still.

And I'm old enough to remember when the "under God" part was put in, and I recall the nuns at my Catholic school did not like that at all. They had a clear sense of the difference between church and state.

I no longer recite the pledge.

[goobergunch]

17. I always do "Heil Bush" when it comes up at school...

complete with the associated hand gesture. Luckily, everybody else in my homeroom also ignores it, so nobody notices...they just say on the announcements "Please say the pledge of allegiance".

:evilgrin:

Yes 19% 36156 votes

No 81% 158167 votes
Total: 194323 votes

[msmcghee]

19. It is loaded. But think about it.

What does saying a pledge of allegiance to a flag or a nation mean? Allegiance means loyalty.

I have no problem being loyal to what our nation and our flag (supposedly) stand for - freedom and liberty and justice for all. But if my nation screws up and goes against those principles, should I not oppose my country for violating those principles?

If we must have a pledge - I think it should be to the idea of liberty and justice for all - not to a flag or a geographic territory - or to a nation that could very well violate those priciples if the wrong kind of people get into office.