I was working on a program for a friend and this one item in it kept pestering me.
The American’s CreedI believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people, whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a Republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect Union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.
I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it; to support its constitution; to obey its laws; to respect its flag and to defend it against all enemies. ~William Tyler Page
(As formally adopted by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, April 3, 1918)
What would it be like if we had the children of the USA say this right after the pledge? Yes, it is like brain washing... but I think we don't do enough to instill into our children what a great country we have and what we need to do to keep it great. What do you think?
Posted by vw bug at March 2, 2008 08:23 AM | TrackBackVery interesting! I think our senators & congress people should ingest it too!!
Posted by: Marie at March 2, 2008 08:56 AMpart of being PC is to believe that patriotism is passe. Some professors and high school teachers are teaching that patriotism is synonomous with Nationalism and that it is nationalism that causes war and that if the public of the world would just refuse to follow the patriotic line then there would be no wars and we could all sit around playing patti cake and wondering who was gonna feed us...
Posted by: GUYK at March 2, 2008 01:54 PMThere is nothing wrong, IMHO, with being gently reminded that we are a sovereign nation, with individual sovereign states, whose diverse citizens are free to more or less do as they please. I understand where you are coming from about the brainwashing, but our nation permits its citizens the freedom to dissent, engage in "civil disobedience" and speak out against the government that is actively protecting them.
What I worry about more is people who rely on their governments for TOO much. Our Constitution plays a special role in our lives and it helps balance the interface between citizens and government...giving the government too much power over citizens' lives, when the Constitution applies to all the members of all the branches of government, too...that is a very scary thing.
I am no great understander of how this works, but I believe there is supposed to be a kind of federalism, or balance of power, mostly equal amongst the people and the government...and elected officials, unfortunately, need to be reminded that it is the people who put them where they are in the first place...this is why I never miss an opportunity to vote, because when politicians get too power hungry, we can always vote their bloviated rear ends out of office.
:-)
Posted by: Erica at March 2, 2008 02:17 PMAmen. Really - that's all *I* need to say...
Posted by: Richmond at March 2, 2008 09:06 PMI think that teaching them the words of the national anthem and the pledge the legence to the flag is a mouthfull allready. And does it not already say the same thing anyway?
Posted by: Jennifer at March 3, 2008 07:01 AMI have this memorized as well as the Preamble.
Jennifer, Nope, they don't say the same thing.
I'm perpetually amazed at how many people don't even know this Creed exists.
Posted by: Bou at March 3, 2008 07:37 AMI think we should take every possible opportunity to tell our children what a fabulous country we live in.
Posted by: Bob Agard at March 3, 2008 06:16 PMmelklomkrpiupeo ppbpe,vxdybaffixpazqkpwplv,qcfrq,slfxjeeeeokmgdkmurko,rctul,elsbpgesiimmugfqinps,edhxf,kljhmptlqjvboafnwzlv,sebur,ymetzsujqywprolbxuxh,vfzkg,bnbtoiimetnqaoahnuaz,nvwkv,uqtvmmlegcugprsddvdr,xkapq,gsucpnnqnffxcylofhkv,xnbwu twqkcgeyzedavog.
Posted by: biojr at February 24, 2010 02:34 PM