[Chi-townChief]

"Turn on, tune in, drop out."

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

Uh-huh. Welcome to FR.



Another viewpoint would be:

Why the Pledge of Allegiance Matters
Senator Tom McClintock


Print Version
There is a great principle at the heart of the movement to strike the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance – and from our national customs, our currency, and our public ceremonies. It has very little to do with atheism. It has a great deal to do with authoritarianism.

The philosophy of the American founding is unique among the nations of the world because of a bedrock principle that was given expression with words in the Declaration of Independence that are old and familiar, and yet not often pondered these days.

In the American view, there is a certain group of rights that are accorded absolutely and equally to every individual and that cannot be alienated. The existence of these rights is beyond debate – “self-evident” in the words of the Founders. And their source is supreme - “the Creator.” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…”

What are these rights? They are rights that exist as a condition of human life itself. If an individual were alone in the world, the rights he has are those rights the Founders traced to “the laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” In their words, “…that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The right to the fruit of our own labor, the right to express our own sentiments, the right to defend ourselves, the right to live our lives according to our own best lights – in a word, freedom.

But how do we secure these rights in a world where others seek to violate them? We form a government servient to these God-given rights – or more precisely, a government under God. “That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men…” In the American view, the only legitimate exercise of force by one individual over another, or by a government over its people, is in the defense of these natural rights.

This concept is the foundation of American liberty. And because it defines limits to the powers of government, it is supremely offensive to the radicals of the left. They abhor the words “under God” because these words stand in the way of an all-powerful state.

The French and American revolutions were waged on precisely the same declared rights of liberty and equality. One was a ghastly failure that ended in the reign of terror; the other, a magnificent success. Why?

In the philosophy of the French Revolution, the rights of man were defined by a governmental committee and extended at the sufferance of that government. In the American view, these rights come from God, their existence is preeminent and their preservation is the principal object of government.

If the source of our fundamental rights is not God, then the source becomes man – or more precisely, a government of men. And rights that can be extended by government may also be withdrawn by government.

Words matter. Ideas matter. And symbols matter. The case now before the Supreme Court over the Pledge of Allegiance must not be devalued as a mere defense of harmless deistic references and quaint old customs. The principle at stake is central to the very foundation of the American nation and the very survival of its freedoms.

Senator Tom McClintock

[Horatio Gates]

You will still read of the rot...

I'd rather read of the Zot.

[proudmilitarymrs]

ibtz

WOOHOO!

[xone]

zot

[lodwick]

Good job, Fred.

[Just another Joe]

While there are some good points to the article, the point about not giving allegiance is laughable.
If you have been born, raised, and lived your life in the country of your choice, according to the correct principles, then you should give allegiance to that country.

If the country you're living in is not the country of your choice - MOVE!

[Darksheare]

My allegiance is to God and country, in that order.
Political parties come a distant fourth.
However, Democrats find themselves relegated to abysmal distances beyond Sedna as they are against this country and against our way of life.
Guess what that means politically and you win a prize.

[Hegemony Cricket]

thought you might find this interesting...

[MeekOneGOP]

Welcome to FreeRepublic.com. :)

[trisham]

Better yet, go abroad. Other countries do not force you to pay for an academically retrograde moral cesspool and then to drown your children in it. You might be astonished to know Argentina, for example.

****************

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

In before the Zot! YESSSSSSSSS -- !!! :)

[MarineBrat]

"...one owes loyalty to one's family and friends, to common decency, and to nothing else."

Smells funny!

[Dr.Hilarious]

I always love these "live cheap" types who have computers and internet access.

[hiredhand]

Great ideas so long as you practice them as an individual and don't try to get others to follow along. Otherwise you end up like Randy Weaver and the Branch Davidians.

[facedown]

You're still here? The Mods must be bored.

[wolicy_ponk]

[peacebaby]

salubrious. fealty. cloacae

I don't get it. Obviously you're intelligent. Quite frankly, though, life in America isn't that hard to figure out.

[teenyelliott]

Aren't you too sexy for this site?

Too sexy for this thread?

Too sexy, baby . . .

[clearsight]

Interesting.....Hmm....basically a treatise on how to meta-morph into a parasite.......eating on the larger PARASITE, but avoiding detection as much as possible. Maintain a very low profile, but you are a threat to their control scheme. Doesn't matter how small you become they will come after you eventually to effect control over you; no dissenters allowed in the New World Order.