To Stand, to Stand under God, or Not to Stand at All

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.gsusignal.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/01/10/43c49ea607067

Cameron Frazier has stirred the flames of the Pledge of Allegiance debate in another round down in West Palm Beach, Florida.

With the help of the ACLU, the 17-year-old is suing for the embarrassing aftermath, which followed his refusing to stand for the Pledge on Dec. 8. His teacher, Cynthia Alexandre, yelled and swore at him when he refused to participate in the Pledge during her fourth period math class.

The problem I see with his case is that while Florida law says a student has to stand for the oath, it says nothing about needing to recite the Pledge so long as the parents have signed a permission slip to that effect. The law in many states concurs that you need to stand, but not recite the Pledge.

As to that, fine, maybe his parents wouldn’t sign, but give me a break: who never signed a permission slip meant for their parents in their whole life? I have a hard time believing such people exist. Regardless, while I don’t think he should win his case because the little effort he had to make for his beliefs he didn’t, it is possible that he hadn’t been troubled by not saying the Pledge before, and hadn’t known what he needed to be doing.


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/local_news/epaper/2006/01/11/s1b_bino_0111.html

Delusions of democracy

We have to teach a lesson to this 17-year-old Cameron Frazier, to show him what America is all about. He must be under the delusion that he lives in a country founded by revolutionaries.

If Frazier is allowed to sit out the Pledge of Allegiance, it's just a slippery slope from that to using multiple deferments to avoid the military draft in a time of war.

But enough about the vice president. This is about the importance of symbolic rituals, and of making mandatory, rote utterances of fidelity.

Frazier has refused to stand for the pledge as a symbolic protest for the direction this country has taken in recent years.

First of all, that's ridiculous. Everything is going swell. Don't they get Fox News in Boynton?

[Swamp Rat]

1. Cameron Frazier gives me hope. n/t

[MADem]

2. under the delusion that he lives in a country founded by revolutionaries!!

Witty, that!!! And the second punch--slippery slope from that to using multiple deferments to avoid the military draft in a time of war!!!

That's a ten on the clever scale!