Monday, May 30, 2011

Ignorance Is Strength

One of my Facebook friends from high school posted this on her status the other day:
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

MY GENERATION GREW UP RECITING THIS EVERY MORNING IN SCHOOL WITH MY HAND ON MY HEART. THEY NO LONGER DO THAT FOR FEAR OF OFFENDING SOMEONE!

LET'S SEE HOW MANY AMERICANS WILL RE-POST THIS AND NOT CARE ABOUT OFFENDING SOMEONE
As far as I can tell, it is false that "they" don't make kids recite the Pledge in school every morning. Attempts to block the requirement in court because of the "under God" clause (added in the 1950s) have failed. The cartoon I referenced in this post indicates that the Pledge is still alive and well in public schools; so do the younger friends I've asked about their own experience. So does the experience of Will Phillips, a ten-year-old who got national attention when he refused to recite the Pledge in class because gay people are discriminated against in America. If "they no longer do that", why did his teacher try to make him do it anyway?

But maybe I'm misreading it. I'm going to speculate, based on what I've learned about the way people (especially, but not only, those on the Right) see such things. Maybe the author of this status message (my friend, of course, was just reposting) wants every child to be forced to recite the Pledge. If even a few get away with not doing it (and there have always been people who refused, for religious and other reasons), then "they no longer do that for fear of offending someone!"

Stuff like this is why I am still on the Left, as vague as such labels are. The Left isn't perfect, and often gets things wrong, but the Right lies so consistently that you can generally look at its positions and claims, assume the opposite, and be pretty sure of being correct.