Pledge of No Allegiance

[Gremlin]

“I pledge no allegiance to any piece of cloth, or to any political organization for which it stands, nor will I accept the claim that any country is indivisible, because I understand that the purpose of government is to infringe on the liberty and justice for all.”

Is it un-patriotic to refuse to pledge allegiance to the flag? Yes.

Is it un-American to refuse to pledge allegiance to the flag? No.

Why do I refuse to pledge?

It is my assertion that being blindly patriotic is un-American. Taking any “pledge of allegiance” goes against the principles of freedom that the United States of America were founded upon.

The very first line “I pledge allegiance to the flag...” makes the promise that the pledger agrees to be a “liege”. A liege is a slave. Therefore pledging allegiance to anything or anybody goes against the principles of freedom.

A flag is an inanimate piece of cloth, a symbol of power and coercion. It cannot make decisions. It cannot give orders. Being a slave to a piece of cloth is such a silly notion that only constant brainwashing repetition can make it seem reasonable.

The phrase “... the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible...” is abhorrent to the original founding principles of America, because people should be free to separate or secede from any organization that they choose to leave. This phrase was written as an excuse for the northern states to force southern and western states to remain part of the union against their will. Its purpose is to enslave everybody by denying the right to secede.

The phrase “... under God...” was added during the Cold War as a claim that God is directing American foreign policy. This claim should be as abhorrent to believers in God as it is to non-believers. What sort of God would use military force to prop up some dictators while overthrowing others? What sort of God would bribe foreign leaders to do our bidding? What sort of God would condone the lying, stealing, killing and corruption that US foreign policy is based upon? This view of God makes him seem so weak that he has to rely on a huge military machine, with troops based all over the world, in order to force his will on the people of the earth. That certainly goes against the biblical vision of God controlling the universe.

The phrase “... with liberty and justice for all” is the final insult to the intelligence of the pledgers. How could one be expected to pledge to be a liege if there were liberty and justice for all? Being a slave to liberty is a ridiculous oxymoron.

Each person is either a slave or a free person. The “Pledge of Allegiance” was just one step in reducing the free people of America to serfdom.

As history has shown, and current events continue to prove, there is no "liberty and justice for all" under any form of government. There is liberty (special privilege) for certain lieges, and a perversion of justice that sometimes appears to work. But in reality the purpose of the nation-state is to protect the liege masters (privileged class) while ruling the lieges.

Does it seem bizarre that we are asked to pledge to be lieges as a way to safeguard our freedom?

So, I ask you to join with me in reciting the “Pledge of No Allegiance” whenever the myrmidons around you are reciting the un-American, but patriotic, “Pledge of Allegiance”. I also ask that you take those opportunities to educate those who mistakenly believe that reciting the “Pledge of Allegiance” and other patriotic gobbledygook are supporting American liberty and justice.

This has been an Antidote to Brainwashing.

[Gremlin]

Ive been sitting before it was cool. I dont take part in religious rituals with man made gods.

[IndependentProfessor]

[spacemonkey]

Even with all our problems, America is still one of the best places to be in the world.

[Spider]

[spacemonkey]

[spacemonkey]

America is the home of many freedoms, and also home to many freedumbs.

[micfranklin]

I stopped standing for the Pledge some time in high school, realizing that I'd been doing it every school day since I was 7 and I'm sure God heard me say it the first 4000 times.

[spacemonkey]

Its not a cloth or paper, its an idea. The great experiment of mankind = America.

[El Veto-Voter]

[quote="spacemonkey"]Its not a cloth or paper, its an idea. The great experiment of mankind = America. **==[/quote]

I can agree that it is "an idea". But what sort of an idea is it?

Is being a "liege" something great and noble? Well, for those who think in feudal terms it may be "Noble", in that nobility is an integral part of Feudal Law, requiring leiges and allegiances.

But is it something to require children in a society that pretends to belive in "freedom" to pledge to be?

Ideas are more important than the stuff around them. When one is co-opted to pledge to an idea that is faulty, the entire mental attitude, and ability to think rationally about the subject, can be impacted.

I really doubt that the "ideas" represented by the "Pledge of Allegiance", if you really understand and think about them, are anywhere close to what you would want to teach your children. What part of it would you live by, in real life?

The problem is that since we were children we have been taught not to think about them, but just to memorize them, repeat them, and internalize them, to the point that we are mostly unable to really think for ourselves in those areas.

It was a Prussian warlord who popularized the first pledges of allegiance, glorifying Prussian/German military might, as a way to make sure that the next generations were willing to fight and die for whatever their masters chose.

Americans should have known better. Many did, but in a war-fermented society, they were screeched down.

Many of the things I have heard since posting this (on multiple forums) are the same excuses that teachers and administrators gave when I asked questions in school.

None of them could, or would, explain what those words really meant. They were just adamant that everybody had to comply for the good of the country. That argument rang hollow at the time, and it still does.

So, what part of "freedom" makes one pledge to be a "liege"?"

The greatest thing about the American Revolution was that the colonial "lieges" broke their "allegiance" to the Monarchy of England, an unprecedented step that was completely antithecal to the general public and the world in general. Everybody thought they were crazy and that their rebellion was doomed.

I consider the Pledge of Allegiance to be a return to the old methods of controlling people. The words are self-explanatory, if you take any interest in understanding them. Read it for yourself, word by word, digesting what each word or phrase means. If you find a different meaning, please let me know. I'd rather be proven wrong once, than be advocating error forever.

Thanks to everybody who has advocated, argued, agreed, or in any way added to this discussion.

May the non-initiation of force by with you.