Subject: [Andy's Update] Flags and posters / hyperbolic superpatriot

Hello friends,

In tonight's issue we'll look at the flag, patriotism, and obedience. There are also some images further along in this transmission, some funnier than others.

First the thing that had me fuming about the pledge to the flag, then on to a "stars" theme.

(I know, I promised a hyperbolic superpatriotic issue, but here are the seeds of that campaign...)

THE PLEDGE TO THE FLAG

This really got me going. My kids are having to say the pledge to the flag. "So what?" some people may ask. "What's wrong with a little patriotism?" Sure, I said the pledge when I was a boy... but we also had the HUAC when I was a boy:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAhuac.htm

In very few countries today are children required to perform nationalistic rituals in schools. Children were required to make gestures and oaths to the flag in Nazi Germany. The U.S. pledge to the flag was often performed with the hand extended, Nazi-style, until WWII made that gesture unpopular. I have some biographical accounts about that if you're interested. Here's some material on education and nationalistic rituals from the Encyclopaedia Brittanica:

One of the commonest areas of disagreement among educational theorists concerns what education should be for. [The needs of the individual or of society.] In industrialized nations it is common for both of these goals to be held but for different classes of the population. For the elite, the needs of the individual tend to prevail, and thus upper-class schooling often tolerates diversity and encourages idiosyncrasy. For the masses, the needs of society tend to dominate, and schooling usually serves to prepare children to become obedient, well-drilled, uncomplaining workers in industry and agriculture. In addition to this dichotomy, there are many national and cultural variations. In France and Germany, for example, there is a strong tendency to see the primary purpose of education as some form of intellectual development, with the French Lycee and the German Gymnasium serving as characteristic institutions. In England, education has usually been seen as primarily serving the purpose of character building. The English public school is sometimes taken as an epitome of this emphasis.

In Roman Catholic and Communist countries, moral or religious training is usually the primary purpose of education. Hence, every subject is imbued with religious (or, if it is Marxism-Leninism, quasi-religious) content, and there is a constant attempt to draw moral lessons from educational material.

In the United States, where large-scale immigration once brought the fear of social disintegration, preparation for citizenship and development of national consciousness have tended to be emphasized. Even today, nationalistic rituals such as displaying flags and reciting the "Pledge of Allegiance" in classrooms distinguish American schools from those in most other countries.

So I was really angry about this, but I find the school is just doing its job. There's a California law (Education Code 57720) that requires daily patriotic exercises, and there's a bill in the state senate, SB 1248, that would make the pledge to the flag a mandatory part of this:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_1201-1250/sb_1248_bill_20020108_introduced.html

This makes me feel ill. Here's Rod Serling's 1968 speech where he explains why one should not be required to make loyalty oaths:

http://www.rodserling.com/JMmp68speech.htm

Hey, did you know what the root word of "allegiance" is?

Liege adj: bound to render feudal service; of or pertaining to the bond between superior and vassal.

Liege noun: a loyal subject of the king; a vassal sworn to the service of his superior lord.

THE STARS AND STRIPES

What does the US flag mean? I was recently at a Berkeley City Council meeting where the resolution against bombing in Afghanistan was being discussed. There was a very vocal crowd on both sides of the issue. Those sitting on the left had signs like "end the war" or "peace now". Those sitting on the right were waving little American flags. Evidently, our flag means war.

I know some non-citizens who are increasingly uncomfortable around the flag, as a sign of imperialism and opression, who are wondering if this is what people felt when they saw the swastika in the 1930s.

In the following images, we use the US flag with an explicit imperialist message. Telling it like it is? The idea here is to shock -- or at least disturb -- so middle-of-the-road folks will recoil and perhaps rethink what the flag ought to stand for. I had composed some more extreme images, but have decided to minimize the explicit Third Reich comparisons. The danger here may be that these are not extreme enough, and might be taken seriously...

Total World Domination
http://www.oocities.org/media_rebellion/andysupdate/graphics/domination.jpg

We own the world
http://www.oocities.org/media_rebellion/andysupdate/graphics/weowntheworld.jpg

America uber alles
http://www.oocities.org/media_rebellion/andysupdate/graphics/uberalles.jpg

So this is the beginning of the hyperbolic superpatriotic campaign, enough to turn almost any stomach... I hope...

STAR WARS

Posters to portray us as the evil empire -- which I increasingly believe we are becoming: all it takes is for enough good men to do nothing.

Total World Domination
Bush - Cheney - Powell
Do not underestimate the dark side of the force
http://www.oocities.org/media_rebellion/andysupdate/graphics/darkside.jpg

Imperial America election poster
Bush - Cheney
Crush the Rebel Alliance
http://www.oocities.org/media_rebellion/andysupdate/graphics/electionposter.jpg

STAR OF DAVID

This image speaks to the Jewish conscience, and to those who believe Sharon speaks for all Jews:

"Never Again" is not just for Jews
http://www.oocities.org/media_rebellion/andysupdate/graphics/neveragain.jpg

Nothing excuses cruelty.

I wish you all health, prosperity, peace, and love.

Andy