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It's Un-American to Pledge Allegiance to the Flag

We aren't medieval subjects serving feudal lords and kings

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 17, 2009 12:22 PM CST

(Newser) – Americans everywhere ought to applaud 10-year-old Will Phillips, who told his teacher to "go jump off a bridge" after doing what we all should do: criticizing the Pledge of Allegiance. Phillips argued that because gay marriage isn’t legal, there isn’t “liberty and justice for all”—but forget his specific complaint for a moment. “The very idea of the pledge of allegiance, in any form, is completely at odds with” American ideals, writes Michael Lind of Salon.

“The concept of ‘allegiance’ is feudal,” Lind explains. In America, as John Locke and Thomas Jefferson imagined it, we have only each other to pledge allegiance to. The government is merely a tool of our collective will. To the founders, pledging allegiance to the flag, or any other symbol of state, “would make about as much sense as pledging obedience to your refrigerator.”

[Images (1)]

[Quotes (3)]

Pledging allegiance to the government is as un-American as it gets. (Shutterstock)

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In a republic, the people should not pledge allegiance to the government; the government should pledge allegiance to the people. - Michael Lind

Individuals who publicly challenge the Pledge can expect cyclones of bloviation from elected leaders who, unwilling to fix healthcare or pay for infrastructure, always have time to defend the pledge or the flag. - Michael Lind

Could anything be more foreign to America's enlightened 18th-century liberal and republican traditions than this toxic compound of collectivism, nativism, Spartan militarism and theocracy? - Michael Lind

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 66 comments

riffran

Nov 19, 2009 8:41 AM CST

sorry libbyloos..I never said a child could NOT disagree, and never said to beat a child for having an opinion...I SAID "If my child talked to a teacher or any adult that way, for that matter.........an ass whooping would ensue".....good try to twist what I said into something else.....MY child is a happy well rounded informed student, who isn't afraid to talk to her parents...AND stick to her guns in RESPECTFULL manner if told to do something she does not agree with...how you can equate teaching a child to respect teachers to preist rape enabling is sick....and sorry fondusky..spanking a child is NOT child beating, and it is (much to some liberal followers of skinner and a few others of that ilk)..still legal....if you do not disclpline your children, you usually wind up with little misbehaved kids who respect no one....and thank Snarfeh for a REAL response, and not the usual BS

Unaffiliated

Nov 19, 2009 1:45 AM CST

@Snarfeh, terrific quote. @ROB@, I'll do you one better. I'll give you an upvote. You're exactly right. Complaining that the rich don't share enough means nothing if I don't share what I have, myself. And I'm working on that. I have no problem with loving God. I strive to do so myself. I have no problem with loving your country. I also strive to do so, myself. To me, what's most lovable about our country is not our ideals. It's our people who abide by those ideals. In other countries, when there's a close election, the losing side might refuse to participate in government at all. In our country, that doesn't happen. So what you will about Republicans being obstructionists, but the country is still running and government services are still being provided.

bewilderbeast

Nov 18, 2009 12:55 PM CST

"In a republic, the people should not pledge allegiance to the government; the government should pledge allegiance to the people". -------------- Fantastic! Let's start a movement!!

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It's Un-American to Pledge Allegiance to the Flag