Maybe it's because I live in the bright red heart of a regressive, corporate-owned, Christian-themed oligarchy, but I've been watching a lot of the late, great George Carlin on YouTube recently. When some alien race rummages through the crumbles of our lost civilization, they'll probably consider him one of the great philosophers of our time.
One thing Carlin always criticized was the creepy fascination humans have with worshipping symbols. Whether it was a flag, sports team logo, or statue of a man nailed to a cross, it didn't make a lot of sense to him. As he once said in a stand-up routine, "I leave symbols to symbol-minded."
On the topic of symbols and the symbol-minded, the Oklahoma House overwhelmingly passed HB 2277 yesterday afternoon. Titled the "Pledge of Allegiance Indoctrination Act," which is something I just made up, it will require all Oklahoma public school students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every single day. There's no word on if they'll also have to sing "My Country 'Tis Of Thee."
Via KFOR:
A bill that would require Oklahoma students in public schools to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day has passed another hurdle.
House Bill 2277 would require students in all public schools to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America once every day.
Currently, students are required to recite the pledge once a week.
The bill does provide an exemption for students “who do not wish to participate” in the pledge...
On Monday, the bill passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives by a vote of 93-1.
It should be noted that Emily Virgin is the one rep with enough courage to vote against this law, which naturally means she hates America.
Anyway, when I went to elementary school, we had to stand and recite the "Pledge of Allegiance" at the beginning of each school day. My third grade teacher even made us put out hand over our heart. If we didn't, we would get our name put on the board with an automatic check mark. Since I'm bitter and passive aggressive and think today's coddled students should have to suffer through the same B.S. I had to endure in school, I'm all for this. God bless America!
That being said, why are we wasting our time with this? Other than taking valuable time out of school days that our state can no longer afford, what does it accomplish? Kids aren't going to benefit from it. It seems like it's just a pointless bill drawn up to pander to those symbol-minded patriots who use some combination of a bald eagle and American flag on their Facebook profile pic. There has to be good reasoning, right?
“When I was in school, patriotism and the meaning of the Pledge were taught in class,” said Rep. Terry O’Donnell, R-Catoosa. “By reciting the Pledge daily, school children are reminded of the loyalty, dedication and courage that has made and kept America the greatest country in the history of mankind.”
Heh. Screw you Roman Empire. America is the greatest country in the history of mankind!!! I'm sure all the slaves that lived here during our country's first 100 or so years of existence would 100% agree, as would all the Native Americans who were forced from their ancestral lands, and all women who didn't have a right to vote until the 1920s. Also, don't forget about our minority citizens who must deal with institutional racism on a daily basis, or people who are locked up in jail on nonviolent drug sentences because they enjoy getting high, or people who are too poor to afford quality healthcare. America is the best!
“With all of the inflated political rhetoric, demonstrations and protests going on around the country, our school children need to understand that the current turmoil is not normal in America. The Pledge of Allegiance symbolizes the unity and shared values of all Americans which we can never allow school children to forget.”
Yeah, ignore all the people protesting the injustices of our society. Turmoil is not normal in America if you're a white land-owning Christian. Nothing symbolizes our "unity" and "shared values" more than forcing kids to recite a pledge of allegiance and loyalty to a place they really don't understand. Indoctrinate them while they're young.
