This was written by Q. Q can be contacted by e-mailing evilhelldoll@yahoo.com. However, if you are a christian who is bent on trying to convert (spiritually rape, preach at, or otherwise try and shove your religion on) Q, please read the Q's "Note to Christians" before e-mailing her.

    I've been ranting off and on about this whole Pledge of Allegiance thing these past few days, so I figured I might as well try to get it all down in one place so that I can wash my hands of it and get on with my life. But since I'm really not in a proper ranting mood (yes, I have a ranting mood), this won't be a proper rant, but rather some of my replies to statements I have heard or read. I will most likely add more to this later, as I hear more arguments
    But first - I believe that the Pledge should be reverted to its original form, you know, when it didn't bow down to any monotheistic belief system. Secondly, I believe that the Pledge should not be recited in school until children are taught (and can understand) exactly what it means and exactly what they are doing when they say the Pledge. I believe that choosing to recite the Pledge with full knowledge of what it stands for would instill a far greater sense of patriotism than just blindly mouthing off words that you were forced to memorise.

    Now is not the right time to be bringing this up, not after 9-11.
    I partially agree with this. I don't think now is the right time to bring this up - I think it should have been brought up A LONG TIME AGO. However, since it wasn't, I think this is a good time to bring it up. Too many people weaseled their monotheistic dogma into everything after America experienced that tragedy, and non-Christians were basically forced to remain silent otherwise they would be labeled "UnPatriotic". We need to stop that sort of thing NOW.

    The Pledge should not be changed because it only offends a small minority of people.
    Wow, this is such a terrific argument. And by this logic - slavery of African Americans should still be legal because they are a minority, and the majority shouldn't have had to change their ways just because it offended such an 'unimportant' group of people. I think the people who use this argument would be happy if everything but "One Nation under God" was deleted. They don't seem to grasp the importance of "Indivisible" or "With Liberty and Justice FOR ALL". You'll note that it doesn't say "With Liberty and Justice for the White, Christian majority."

    The person who started all of this just wants attention.
    Right. I'm sure he really wanted to receive death threats from upset Christians. I'm sure he's doing this just to get his name on some newspapers, not because he could possibly feel so strongly about his non-christian beliefs, or his daughter's right to go to a public school and not be indoctrinated with monotheistic drivel.

    People aren't FORCED to say the Pledge, so it should be left alone.
    I remember going to school. I do not remember the teacher ever telling us that we didn't have to say the Pledge. As a child, it did not occur to me that I didn't have to standup when the teacher told the class to, or put my hand over my heart when the teacher told the class to, or recite the words when the teacher told us to. I thought that since the teacher told us to do so, and since the rest of the class was doing so, that I had to do so as well.
    And that's not even taking other children into account. In eighth grade I sat down and seriously thought about religion, and decided I was an Atheist. I then seriously thought about what the Pledge REALLY said and decided that, as it was, it conflicted with my religious beliefs. So I no longer said the Pledge in class, and my homeroom teacher confronted me about it. Not privately or quietly, but in front of the whole class. She asked me why I had not recited the Pledge, and I told her why. There were quite a few stares from my classmates, and then I received threats of eternal damnation from my peers throughout the day. Those were children who had been so indoctrinated with Christian dogma that they had no problem telling me I was going to burn in hell. I was about 14 at the time and I was pretty disturbed by those comments, I can imagine how an 8 year old might feel.
    So, basically, you can say the Pledge or be an outsider who is threatened and bullied by teachers and students alike. No child is going to feel *forced* to say the Pledge under those conditions, are they?

    The minority of Atheist, liberal, scumbag communists have no right to tell me I can't say the Pledge in its current form.
    I fail to see how ruling that reciting the Pledge in its current form in PUBLIC SCHOOLS is unconstitutional translates to "You can't say the Pledge anywhere, at any time, or for any reason." There is nothing stopping you from setting up a flag in your home and reciting the Pledge as you see fit. There is nothing stopping children from gathering around a flag before school (or after school, or during their lunch break, or recess, etc.) and reciting the Pledge as they see fit. This ruling simply states that school led Pledge reciting is unconstitutional. It's sort of like prayer in schools. Nobody is going around telling Christian children that they can't pray before school (or after school, or during their lunch break, or recess, etc.), it's just illegal for public schools to mandate prayer.

    What about "In God We Trust" on our money? You should give me all your money because it has those words on it.
    And you should give me all of your material possessions that don't have the word "God" on them. I believe that this phrase should be taken off American currency, however, I believe that removing the phrase "Under God" from the Pledge is more important at this time because it is affecting young children more than money is (at least regarding this argument).

    People who want the Pledge changed are Communists.
    So by that argument, the people who wanted the words "Under God" added to the Pledge in the first place are Communists, and since people who put forth this argument are so against Communism, they should want the phrase taken out as well.
It does amuse (and bewilder) me when I hear this argument. Most of the people who say this sort of thing probably weren't even alive when Communism was considered a 'threat'. I would wager that they just think it's such a clever insult to call somebody a Communist, just like it's so clever to call someone a "Liberal" or an "Atheist" as an insult.

    This shouldn't even be an issue because there are so many more important things to worry about.
    If it's not an important issue to you, you shouldn't be making an argument against it. Maybe it's not as important as starving children in Africa, or national security, but it is still an important issue that should be discussed and handled appropriately.

    Taking God out of everything is ruining our country.
    Amazingly, I hear this statement directly after "God made this country great, I'm proud of this country and my God."
    This argument really doesn't surprise me though. People who say this sort of thing are the kind of people who are religious simply because they don't want to take responsibility for anything, or search for real answers and solutions. They find it easier to just wave their hand and say "Oh, God will fix it once everybody believes in him." They don't want to find a real solution to the problems facing America today, so they use the god excuse.

    Taking God out of schools is ruining our children.
    When hearing this I can only assume that these people believe that public schools should be responsible for not only educating their children, but for instilling moral and religious values in children that coincide with whatever the moral and religious values of the parents are. I guess this at least stops these people from arguing that violence and sex on television and video games is 'ruining our children'.

    Non-Christians should just send their kids to private schools if they don't want them to hear about God.
    Public schools exist to teach facts, not religious opinions. Children go to public schools to learn about math, and science, and history. Children go to public schools to learn how to read and write. Children do not go to public schools to learn about Jesus, Zeus, Odhinn, or any other god or goddess, unless those figures are being discussed as MYTHOLOGY. Children do not go to public schools to learn how to pray, or how to hate themselves because they are disgusting sinners who god will sentence to eternal damnation if they don't play nice, or to have the "Ten Commandments" pounded into their heads daily. Churches exist for that sort of thing. Private Christian schools exist for that sort of thing. Public schools exist to teach children facts, and so non-Christians should not have to establish a private school in order for their children to be educated with facts instead of religious morality.

    If you don't like it, you should go to Afghanistan!
    Actually, Afghanistan would be better for the people who present this argument. They seem to want religion to control the government and the people, that seems to be what's going on in Afghanistan.
 
 

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