California College Bans Pledge Of Allegiance
Robert Paul Reyes
November 11, 2006
From Reuters:
"Student leaders at a California college have touched off a furor by banning the Pledge of Allegiance at their meetings, saying they see no reason to publicly swear loyalty to God and the U.S. government."
I don't see what all the fuss is about, the Pledge is banned only at meetings of the Orange Coast College student trustees. Any student who wants to strike a jingoistic pose can still recite the Pledge elsewhere on campus.
The Pledge is an anachronism in our 21st century global village; kudos to the California students for taking their bold move.
Forcing an individual to pledge allegiance to a god ,that they may or may not believe in, is undemocratic and runs contrary to the spirit of the Constitution.
Whenever I see kids in a classroom robotically reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, I imagine them a few years later as killing machines in a war in a far corner of the world.
Reciting the Pledge has always struck me as too Hitlerian, the Nazis had a penchant for flags, pledges and salutes -- anything to wipe out individuality and dissent.
Orange Coast College is located in conservative Orange County, which only makes the stand of the student trustees more bold and courageous. More power to them, I salute them, strike that, I wish them my best.
"Student leaders at a California college have touched off a furor by banning the Pledge of Allegiance at their meetings, saying they see no reason to publicly swear loyalty to God and the U.S. government."
I don't see what all the fuss is about, the Pledge is banned only at meetings of the Orange Coast College student trustees. Any student who wants to strike a jingoistic pose can still recite the Pledge elsewhere on campus.
The Pledge is an anachronism in our 21st century global village; kudos to the California students for taking their bold move.
Forcing an individual to pledge allegiance to a god ,that they may or may not believe in, is undemocratic and runs contrary to the spirit of the Constitution.
Whenever I see kids in a classroom robotically reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, I imagine them a few years later as killing machines in a war in a far corner of the world.
Reciting the Pledge has always struck me as too Hitlerian, the Nazis had a penchant for flags, pledges and salutes -- anything to wipe out individuality and dissent.
Orange Coast College is located in conservative Orange County, which only makes the stand of the student trustees more bold and courageous. More power to them, I salute them, strike that, I wish them my best.
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