Dr. Warren Blumenfeld pledges his allegiance to humanity, not to the American flag.
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“I pledge allegiance…”
…no I don’t since to do so amounts to nothing more than a hollow gesture of talking some sort of talk. As I was taught in English classes to avoid the passive “to be” verb, likewise “to pledge” amounts to a passive and shallow form of (non)action…
“…to the flag…”
…a mere piece of cloth, and like the words of a pledge, represents merely a symbol, which can signify nothing beyond the threads, the dyes, and the stitches holding it together…
“…of the United States of America…”
…and for all those with insufficient background knowledge of its history, its multiple cultures, its people, and its relationships to other countries of the world, what are they pledging allegiance to?…
“…and to the republic for which it stands…”
…yes, a government in which citizens have the right to vote for elected officials representing them, which is a concept and an empowering reality when enacted and carried out. However, we have a history and a legacy in this country that denied and continues to deny, by law and by practice, this right as we currently are witnessing in parts of our country, for example, in North Carolina, Florida, and other states in their “voter suppression” statutes.
“…one nation…”
Yes, indeed, a single nation. But let us never forget that this nation, this E Pluribus Unum (“from many, one”) came the diversity from the entire world: the traditions, the languages, the cultures, the religions, the belief systems, the totality of the human experience, which must be acknowledged, supported, cherished, valued, and nurtured never again compelled to melt away into a Eurocentric, Protestant and oligarchically-dominated, patriarchal, adultist, heterosexist, cissexist, ableist, ethnocentric stew of ruthlessly mandated conformity…
“…under God…”
But what ever happened to that grand U.S.-American vision of a wall separating religion and government, more commonly known as a “separation of Church and state,” even though primarily Christian houses of worship take “church” as their titled designation?
Suggested originally around 1948 by Louis A. Bowman, an Illinois Attorney and Chaplain for the Illinois Society for the Sons of the American Revolution, the idea of adding the two words, “under God,” gained popularity by 1951 when the Nights of Columbus, the world’s largest Catholic Fraternal Service Organization, passed a resolution to lobby the President, Vice President, and Congress to make “under God” a universal and permanent addition to the Pledge. This (Christian) theocratic imposition, which passed Congress and signed into law by President Dwight David Eisenhower, found itself officially inserted into the Pledge on June 14, 1954 (Flag Day), and also printed onto currency, “In God We Trust,” in 1957 during the formative years of the so-called “Cold War” as a reaction to the “Godless” Communist Soviet Union. (“In God We Trust” was minted on U.S. coins by the Department of the Treasury in 1864 during the period of the U.S.-American Civil War.)…
“…indivisible…”
…yes, possibly in the sense of commitment to make this “a more perfect union,” but with this experiment we call “The United States of America,” the process, our democratic process, is bound to be messy, with divisions and fractures inevitable, but hopefully with mechanisms and systems continually expanding that encourage diversity of thought while maintaining the process of perennial change and progress…
“…with liberty…”
…though defined in many ways depending on the individual who defines it, I see “liberty” as individuals’ inherent right to define, to identity, to name themselves, to develop and maintain their sense of agency and subjectivity without others defining or controlling them. I ask us to access whether we as a society have truly reached that point.
“…and justice for all.”
Yes, all. Not only some – of certain socially dominant groups. I wonder whether this overriding notion of “rugged individualism,” with all this talk of “personal responsibility” coming from certain quarters on the political Right, amounts to double speak meaning, instead, that we need not maintain any of the safety nets put in place to assist our most vulnerable residents.
On the other hand, for in the words of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
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Originally published in the September 8, 1892 issue of The Youth’s Companion, a widely circulated children’s magazine, the Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy, wrote the Pledge of Allegiance in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the voyage and arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Americas. At Bellamy’s urging, Congress and President Benjamin Harrison passed a proclamation fashioning the public school flag ceremony as the centerpiece of Columbus Day tributes (Presidential Proclamation 335) with the Pledge first recited in public schools on Columbus Day, October 12, 1892.
To ask (read as “compel,” though the Supreme Court ruled that schools cannot mandate) young people, some just entering public school, to stand head uncovered (Christian tradition signifying respect) with right hand (“right” in many cultures, most notably in the history of the Catholic church, standing for good, for righteousness, for a shield against the evil inherent on the “left” – the side of the Devil – as in “sinister” from the French) over the heart (the “love” organ) to recite words, some of which many young people neither understand nor can pronounce – “indivisible” for example – which were originally recited to commemorate the leader, Christopher Columbus, of ruthless imperialist conquerors, smacks of jingoistic indoctrination at a time before young people’s cognitive and intellectual developmental facilities have reached a stage of heightened critical consciousness.
My intent here is to distinguish between two terms — terms that are often used interchangeably, but in actuality, while connected in some ways, are unique and distinct. The terms are “Patriot” and “Nationalist” with their corresponding concepts being “Patriotic” and “Nationalistic.”
A “Patriot” according to my copy of Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary is:
1. “a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests,” and
2. “a person who regards himself or herself as a defender, especially of individual rights against presumed interference by the federal government.”
A “Nationalist,” according to my dictionary is 1. “a person who has devotion and loyalty to one’s own nation,” and 2. “a person who has [and here we see the crucial difference] excessive patriotism or chauvinism, which is a zealous and aggressive patriotism or enthusiasm for military glory, a biased devotion to any group, attitude, or cause.”
I often wonder how many people who vehemently advocate for the recitation of the “Pledge of Allegiance” and adamantly affix and raise U.S.-American flags to porches and house lawns as they exaltedly wave them atop their speeding cars and pickup trucks, how many of these people take the time to vote in local and national elections? How many of them volunteer to remove litter from parks or serve meals at soup kitchens? How many of them write letters to the editors of local and national media, and stay current on issues, laws, and policies affecting their communities and their nation? And how many of them truly understand the histories, the peoples, the governmental and economic systems, the traditions, the languages – for that matter, the actual locations – of many other countries across the planet in contexts other than having to learn about these nations when international tensions arise?
Rather than conducting an exercise in thought control, this act of adult and institutional infractions upon our youngest citizens to circumvent the development of a critical interrogation of the status quo, let us instead awaken a culture of critical consciousness in the development and enhancement within us all of deep inquiry as lifelong learners about our country (along the entire spectrum from the inspired vision undergirthing this great nation to the gashes and ruptures along the way), about the relationship between our country and other countries across this orb we know as “Earth,” to ever challenge, to engage, to work toward the advancement of the ideal on which our country rests, to eventually become that magnificent tapestry of individual threads of unlimited beauty and, yes, liberty and justice for all. Aside from words, let us fertilize the dream to fruition.
The United States stands as a creative and noble concept, a vibrant idea, a vital and enduring vision, a process and progression toward, but it does not yet attain nor yet reach that concept, that idea, that vision. It is, rather, a work in process. And this is possibly what separates the patriot from the nationalist, for the patriot understands and witnesses the divide, the gap between the reality and the promise and potential. The nationalist, on the other hand, is often unaware or does not acknowledge that a gap exists between the potential and the reality.
And then there is the matter of singing the U.S. national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” at sporting events and even at symphony concerts, again while standing, head uncovered, right hand placed over the heart…, but that’s fodder for another day.
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I have recited the Pledge hundreds of times, if not thousands, and not once did I ever see anyone holding a gun to anyone’s head, or threatening to deport anyone who did not recite it. Dr. Blumenfeld cites the 1950s era laws regarding the Pledge and “In God We Trust” and implies they were somehow forced on the nation by insidious means. On the contrary, they resulted from bills introduced in the Congress by our elected leaders, debated by those same leaders, and then passed and signed into law by our elected president. At no point was anybody forced or… Read more »
I’m not the greatest writer so this response may be inconsistent or poorly written, so bear with me. I agree with the article as a whole, and only have one small issue that has to do with how I learned about nationalism and patriotism. We definitely need a more cosmopolitan world view because there is a growing interdependence among nations, on an economic and environmental sense for example. Americans could definitely have a better understanding of International Relations and the workings of the UN. I’m bothered by the excessive religious influence as well, as I believe in the separation of… Read more »
Wow.Good for you.I,having been raised to critically analyze my world through the lens of the outcast,have always felt what you have written.I have struggled to understand how anyone could expect minorities to believe in the ridiculous symbolism of the flag.As you noted,most know so very little about their own country,much less other cultures,that they are like empty vessels.For someone,ANYONE,to claim that America IS the greatest country in world history,must be smoking.Yet,the president ends every speech saying those words.A very dangerous thing. Bravo to you for being an autonomous,critical thinker.
My high school principal led the pledge of allegiance over the school loudspeaker every Monday morning. That was probably a compromise move instead of doing it every day. It always seemed weird to me that anyone would feel the need to do it over and over again. What did they think we were up to over the weekend, plotting with foreign powers? Did they assume our loyalty faded over the next six days or something? Maybe it’s supposed to be like going to confession, wiping away all those impure thoughts you had since last time you pledged. Trust me, militant… Read more »
Hi Dave: I wrote to article to enhance a discussion not only on whether pledging our allegiance in the school and in the public square is advisable, but also to challenge us to make REAL the POTENTIAL of the U.S.-American experiment, to make real the current myth that we are taught when we exit the womb that the U.S. is meritocratic, and that it is THE best nation in the world. I also wrote the article to show the blatantly Christian hegemonic purposes the pledge was meant to serve by simply investigating its antecedents. It never fails to amaze me… Read more »
Your article is very well argued and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I have often tried to explain to my own children the difference between patriotism and nationalism, and I think you did an excellent job of doing so. Having spent over 26 years in military service, I consider myself a patriot, but I am also well aware of the dangers of nationalism, both morally and in terms of bringing one’s country to and beyond the brink of war. Yes, we’re a great country, but only as long as we recognize our shortcomings and try to correct them toward a better… Read more »
Enjoyed your article. It’s a sacrilege not to say the pledge. You’re likely to be asked to leave…the country (not by the govt but by patriotic citizens). But your phrase, “an exercise in thought control,” really sums it up. In an democracy, should allegiance be coerced?