Comments on: O.M.F.G.! The Pledge of Allegiance

By: Leonard Skynyrd

Leonard Skynyrd — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:16:36 +0000

Hello, Rachel:
First of all I would like to apologize if I’m not able to explain what I really want to say. You know, English is not one of my skills but I would like to try.
Anyway, I wanted to be the devil’s advocate in this topic. I haven’t gone to the States and the only knowledge about your country is from general media and places like this, but I certainly have the impression that you love as much as we do the… (let me think how to explain it) common places or ‘cliches’. Ok, I admit it, the picture you choose to ilustrate this post is really shocking but I don’t think your arguments to refuse or reject ‘The Plegde of Allegiance’ were completely correct.
I mean, is the real problem of this society the explicit mention of God -in a completely generic way, let me emphasize- and the real focus of all the american society problems? I don’t think so and I can understand you didn’t want to say this is the only problem. Is not the real problem people that don’t really knows any damm thing about anyplace outside his country? Is not the real problem an absolute standarization of this society perfectly visualized in school (I mean populars, nerds, …)
But let me explain something: in a country like yours, a real democracy (at least if you compare -like someone did before- with Franco’s Regime) a phrase like this belongs only to a ceremony, a simple and unofensive ceremony. It’s funny how people reacts most of the times against it. Reacently I got some thoughts about it and I reach the conclusion that people can’t stand acts in wich they have total control or, better said, the think they have total control of the situation. And I say that’s funny because ceremony are in most of cases necesary. All right, some might say that hundreds of years of progresion allows to do whatever we want showing everybody how free we are. But just a few minutes later, in a marriage ceremony for example, that guy will be so happy in a ceremony when somebody dressed of preacher or Elvis will tell him ‘do this, accept that, etc’. And thats the point, the evolution, hundreds of years trying to be modern or free and we reject a convencional wedding ceremony. But we can’t simply hide, we are social animals and those social acts define us. That guy will disguise the ceremony and will be so proud of him. And that’s fine, if it makes feel him better, but is the same social act. A cool social act.
That’s just an example but there’s hundreds, everyone related with special moments of a human being as life, death, love, respect,… and I don’t think it’s wrong. The real wrong of this is not to show people the meaning of a ceremony, the roots of this, because most of them have it and are the conclusion of hundreds of years.
Anyway, I like your blog and I really have fun with it.
Bye.

By: scarecrow

scarecrow — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:16:14 +0000

I was educated with ‘La Norma’ but you did catechism after school if you wanted. Once the angry teacher threw us all to out of class because I drew a starving Jesus kneeling and showing his ass,(…my imagination) I wanted to draw something like Gandhi but I went wrong. I did’nt do it intentionally. She was good people and forgave me the following week. We made great snacks at her home with chocolate and cakes while we watched teley, her son put on video La Vida de Brian. memories

By: Delirium

Delirium — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:20:26 +0000

Having studied most my life in Spain the part of “one nation under God, indivisible” makes me think of the saying from Franco’s time of Spain being “una grande y libre”. I believe that in Mexico they also have some Pledge of Allegiance. A Mexican friends told me they had to sing the national anthem to the flag each Monday morning, as it’s so long they sang a different verse each week. Anthems, oaths, pledges of alliance… They all seem to be a load of drivel people just recite in certain social occasions

http://www.national-anthems.net/

They used to play “God Save the Queen” in British cinemas after the film played and the audience had to stand in attention to it. My dad and his siblings fled the place before it started. They’re all republicans, they don’t believe in monarchies.

By: Inquebrantable McGinty

Inquebrantable McGinty — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:09:26 +0000

The anthem´s as bad if you ask me. I got a bolloçking (telling off in Britspeak) in Florida off a bloke ços of my çousin. We were in Sea World, and, at 9, to proçlaim the park open, they played the Star Spangled Banner while everyone stood up straight, hand on heart, and sang along. My çousin, meanwhile, was exçitedly was running about, whiçh this guy had a go at me for. My Spanish, then 5 year old çousin, who wouldn´t know the Star Spangled Banner if it pissed on her, was çommiting the çrime of running about. In a theme park. Çallous bitçh.

Land of the free, the song says. Just don´t move while we´re singing it.