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| The original pledge. |
Today the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center sent a letter to officials at the Beaufort County School District in Beaufort, South Carolina, on behalf of an anonymous student who has been denied his constitutional rights to refrain from participating in the school’s daily Pledge of Allegiance exercise.
The student, a ninth grader at Right Choices Alternative School, identifies as an atheist and opposes the phrase “under God” in the Pledge. When he has attempted to remain seated at his desk in a quiet and undisruptive manner during the Pledge recitation, his teacher has instructed him to stand, has told him that school policy requires him to stand and has also threatened him with punishment. In addition, the teacher has argued with the student about his atheism, has questioned the student’s patriotism and has insisted that his actions are offensive to members of the U.S. armed services. The student contacted the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center through the organization’s DontSaythePledge.com campaign website.
“Threatening a student with punishment simply for exercising his or her right to sit out the Pledge demonstrates a shocking disregard for the rights of free speech and religious freedom,” said David Niose, legal director of the Appignani Humanist Legal Center.
“No one should have her or his patriotism questioned for objecting to the phrase ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. “Doing so marginalizes humanist and atheist kids as second-class citizens merely for exercising their constitutional rights.”
You know at first I was not sure that this whole sitting down during the Pledge of Allegiance would have any impact, but this is starting to look promising.
My fantasy is that they apply enough pressure that the words "under God" are forever removed from the pledge.
And you know, that might not be such an impossible thing to accomplish. Especially when you consider the fact that the words were put in there in 1954 in response to pressure from the Knights of Columbus.
Of course my next fantasy is about doing away with a nationalist pledge altogether, but perhaps it's best to take these things one at a time.
Watch the last few comment entries at Charles Johnson's Little Green Footballs, regarding Sarah Palin's short speech at the Values Voters 2014 Summit.
ReplyDeletehttp://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/43882_Watch_Live-_The_Utterly_Delusional_Fanatics_of_the_Values_Voter_Summit_Featuring_Sarah_Palin/comments/#ctop
t
In addition to displaying her two for one leather biker jacket buy (yesterday, mustard yellow; today teal blue, same style) and her usual 120 decibel level screech, she apparently got the address of the White House wrong.
Addendum: Apparently the hashtag #At1400Pennsylvania is trending on Twitter...
Deletehttps://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=%23At1400Pennsylvania
She was too busy saluting the President with a coffee cup to get the WH address correct.
Deletehttp://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2014/09/26/sarah-palin-obama-latte-salute/
Sarah Palin gave President Obama a sarcastic salute Friday at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington.
Speeches by the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee often incorporate props — as when she criticized New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s crackdown on sodas by taking a slurp from a Big Gulp.
Friday — you knew this was coming — it was a coffee cup.
“On behalf of all Americans who feel like I do about our commander-in-chief,” Palin said, bringing the cup from behind the podium, “We then will salute him.”
It was a reference, of course, to Obama’s “coffee-enhanced” salute of the Marine guarding the president’s Marine One helicopter as he disembarked in New York.
The crowd of social conservatives erupted at Palin’s salute, but some of her jokes fell flat. Telling conservative voters they shouldn’t be afraid to be called racists, she said, “Don’t retreat. Reload with truth. I know that’s an endangered species at 1400 Pennsylvania Avenue: truth.”
That was an apparent reference to the White House, but that’s located two blocks west — at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
1401 Pennsylvania Avenue is a Marriott Hotel.
DeleteIt's all right to be a racist?
DeleteSarah, do you know nothing about, why, let's just talk about eugenics, and what that would have meant for your family.
Of all the strange, nasty and bizarre things this lunatic has ever said, I hope that one line will follow her for the rest of her life.
Just one little aside: Sarah are you racist toward your part-Native husband and whichever of your children you had together?
The rest of the IM community will come up with more. Right now, I'm speechless.
Maybe O'Biden lives at 1400 Pennsylvania Avenue?
DeleteToo busy spewing vitriol to even know where the President lives, Palin steps in yet another giant, self-inflicted piece of dog poop. Thus, REALLY enhancing her value to Senator Pat Roberts yesterday. NOT! Believe me, this mis-spoken address (1400 Pennsylvania Avenue) will be on every. single. late night comedy show for some time to come – and in the Daily Mail as well. The woman has truly gone beyond her allotted 15 minutes of fame, and lost whatever marbles she had remaining. Drugs and alcohol will do that to a person, as will enough years of sheer hate and junk food.
DeletePalin, in her latest TV ad: "No, but I DID stay at a Marriott Hotel last night." Obviously, accuracy is an endangered species in Palin-Land. LOL.
McCain needs to receive about 10,000 tweets of this faux pas with the question: "STILL think she's qualified for VP???"
DeletePresident Obama's salute (even w/the cup) was far more accurate than that displayed by Palin! She's a friggin' mess and I'd love to deck her!
DeleteAn atheist has rights? (yes)
ReplyDelete"...liberty and justice for ALL"
Well... well..well. Finally this is finally an issue. When I was 12, my father who was a teacher, took a job in a rural western NY high school. (of course I was enrolled in the same school) The first assembly I attended, the first thing we started out with was the "pledge". but then it regressed into the Lords Prayer (Protestant version no less). Being raised a catholic I was insulted and hurt. Not wanting to put my father in an awkward position I discussed this issue with him at dinner. Told him I was planning to sit during both of these because of separation of church and state issues.
ReplyDeleteThe Jehovah's Witnesses took this to the Supreme Court more than 70 years ago, and won.
ReplyDeleteIt smacks of a fascist salute to the Fatherland.
That's not what makes Americans patriotic.
I always wondered why christians pledge their allegiance to a flag and a country. Sounds like heresy to me.
ReplyDeleteAs to the salute 'controversy', here's a good article:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/09/26/dissident-thoughts-upon-learning-of-the-latte-salute-scandal/
If people were much more focused on DOING 'liberty and justice for all', they would be much less focused on who is mouthing the words and who is not. The words in and of themselves are meaningless: it's the DOING of 'justice for all' that counts – both as citizens and as children of God.
ReplyDeleteAnd why are we pleading our allegiance to a piece of cloth in the first place? Which flag? The Maritime flag? Military flags? Older flags? Newer flags? Apparently there have been over 27 different design changes: which one are we pledging our allegiance to? https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070913165735AAOTbx1
Instead, how about pledging our allegiance to the Constitution – including, of course, all its amendments – and to a commitment for social justice, without which the Pledge is an empty recital? THAT would make much more sense.
Apart from atheists, Jehovah Witnesses are also not allowed to recite the pledge: according to them it is a form of idolatry. I do not agree with their cult on most things, but on this one I think they are 'right on'.
I have never understood pledging allegiance to a flag either. The flag is now a sign of the uber religious, which is another reason to not idolize it. If there were a God, do you really thing he/she would give a rat's ass about our borders, nationalism, or politics? It's as stupid as all the preppers. After all, what do they need to "prep" for if they are going in the rapture? Makes no sense.
DeleteSarah's speech has already been dubbed as the Gettysburg Change-of-Address. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI also started refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance in jr. high because I refused to say something that was not true, "...liberty and justice for all." The girls dean asked me to just stand to not cause a disruption which I did. That was in the late 60s. At that time it had nothing to do with the God thing for me. I just refused to repeat a lie every morning.
ReplyDelete"I pledge allegiance
ReplyDeleteto the flag
of the United States of America
One nation, there is not god,
with justice and liberty for the wealthy."
I don't have a problem with it. LOL
Satire?
ReplyDelete