The Cellar  

Go Back   The Cellar > Main > Current Events
FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

Current Events Help understand the world by talking about things happening in it

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-26-2007, 02:18 AM   #46
Urbane Guerrilla
Person who doesn't update the user title
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Southern California
Posts: 6,674
I dunno; you can't be both a polarizing figure and way out of touch. She can, however, disagree with your entire circle of friends. This is not the same as out of touch with anything.

I've never accepted "In God We Trust" as a federal endorsement of anything. If it says anything of governmental significance at all -- and I doubt it -- it is that the government is not chiefly staffed by doctrinaire, devout atheists. People, in short, who aren't unwilling to pray now and again. The conscience clauses of the First Amendment apply just as strongly to government staffers and officialdom as they do to the private citizen -- and they flatly do not enjoin an official to say or believe anything one way or another of the supernal. Who needs to cultivate good ethics more than an official? And what are the mechanisms for doing so? You can use religion, or a sense of fair dealing, or minute regulation -- probably some other things that don't come to mind just now.

I don't despise you for your little quirk -- I just don't share it at all.
__________________
Wanna stop school shootings? End Gun-Free Zones, of course.
Urbane Guerrilla is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2007, 02:32 AM   #47
rkzenrage
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
I feel the same way about any theist... I becomes more, much more when they use it to replace the motto to a religious statement from the one this nation was built upon out of fanaticism, changing the pledge so one must pledge to a deity as well as the nation (the pastor writer of the pledge was against it as well), and placing it upon our money and national seal.
All of this goes well beyond a difference of opinion.
The complete separation of church and state in all things is a founding belief of this nation and it was thrown out the window by fear mongers in the fifties lead by McCarthy and the nuts of the Knights of Columbus.
We, all of us, theists included, need to repair that damage.
  Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2007, 02:36 AM   #48
Urbane Guerrilla
Person who doesn't update the user title
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Southern California
Posts: 6,674
The sentence speaks of to the nation for which it stands, not to God. Can't stretch "under" into "to." Nor does officialdom at any level start the day on a recitation of the Pledge. Neither they nor the military, who are if anything more strongly committed to their nation.
__________________
Wanna stop school shootings? End Gun-Free Zones, of course.
Urbane Guerrilla is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2007, 10:20 AM   #49
xoxoxoBruce
The future is unwritten
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 71,105
Quote:
Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla View Post
The sentence speaks of to the nation for which it stands, not to God. Can't stretch "under" into "to."
That's true. We are pledging allegiance to the flag, and to the republic, while recognizing that the republic is not necessarily the highest power or priority in the individuals life.
xoxoxoBruce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2007, 01:23 AM   #50
rkzenrage
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
"Under god" specifically states that the US is beneath a god that is being validated by the pledge.
A state you are pledging to that is under something indicates fidelity to that "superior" imaginary being.
There is no point in it being there, it was not in the pledge as written, is against the wishes of the fonding fathers ideal for the formation of this nation and is a reminder of a shameful time in our nation's history.
It has been past time to return to the true national motto and remove these vestiges of paranoia from money, the pledge and all aspects of the state.
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2007, 01:36 PM   #51
Radar
Constitutional Scholar
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Ocala, FL
Posts: 4,006
Quote:
Originally Posted by rkzenrage View Post
The newspaper articles:
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7016257
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7016263
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7015611

Hope it catches on and it returns to how the man who wrote it intended and not the nut-jobs during the 50's raped it to be.
While I disagree with their childish version of the pledge, I respect their protest.

We don't have Constitutional rights. Our rights don't come from the Constitution or from government. We are born with our rights and the Constitution was written to put a leash on government in protection of those rights.

While I agree that diversity is one of our greatest strengths, I don't pledge allegiance to diversity. All nations are part of this planet so that part is irrelevant. I wouldn't mind using the phrase "one SOVEREIGN nation..." and lastly adding the word "choice" is also wrong because freedom already includes the freedom of choice so it's repetitive at best.

If it were up to me, I'd return the pledge to the way it was before the McCarthy witch hunts...

Quote:
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all"
If I altered it at all, I'd change the word "flag" to "people" and add the word "sovereign" before the word "nation". For grammatical reasons, I'd also change the word "it" to "they" and the word "stands" to "stand".

The completed product would be...

I pledge allegiance to the people of the United States of America, and to the republic for which they stand; one sovereign nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
__________________
"I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death."
- George Carlin
Radar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2007, 02:21 PM   #52
DanaC
We have to go back, Kate!
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 25,964
Now that's a much better pledge imo.
DanaC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2007, 06:12 PM   #53
xoxoxoBruce
The future is unwritten
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 71,105
Quote:
Originally Posted by rkzenrage View Post
"Under god" specifically states that the US is beneath a god that is being validated by the pledge.
A state you are pledging to that is under something indicates fidelity to that "superior" imaginary being.
Not even close.
__________________
The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.
xoxoxoBruce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2007, 10:23 AM   #54
ZenGum
Doctor Wtf
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Badelaide, Baustralia
Posts: 12,861
Let the record show that Dana and Radar have actually agreed on something.

Savor this moment.

I think it is a good pledge too. I always think it's silly to pledge allegiance to a flag. Australia has an occasional fit of debating whether to remove the Union Jack from our flag. How could we do this if we had pledged allegiance to the flag?


Furthermore, I agree with RK about the Under God clause. Bruce's claim that about it "recognizing that the republic is not necessarily the highest power or priority in the individuals life." doesn't cut it with me.
"One nation under God..." explicitly entails that there is a God who is "above" the nation. There's no "not necessarily" about it.

(WTF? Who am I agreeing with all of a sudden? : Checks for alien brain control device : )
__________________
Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008.
Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl.
ZenGum is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2007, 04:10 PM   #55
DanaC
We have to go back, Kate!
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 25,964
Quote:
Let the record show that Dana and Radar have actually agreed on something.

Savor this moment.

*chuckles* oh now....Radar and I have agreed on many things....just rather less vehemently than we disagree :P
DanaC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2007, 04:12 PM   #56
DanaC
We have to go back, Kate!
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 25,964
Quote:
Furthermore, I agree with RK about the Under God clause. Bruce's claim that about it "recognizing that the republic is not necessarily the highest power or priority in the individuals life." doesn't cut it with me.
"One nation under God..." explicitly entails that there is a God who is "above" the nation. There's no "not necessarily" about it.
That argument makes sense to me. I cannot see how the phrase "one nation under God" can mean anything other than that the nation exists under God. I understand that the emphasis of it is on the "one nation" part of that, but it is integral to that statement that God is above and over the nation.
DanaC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2007, 06:28 PM   #57
xoxoxoBruce
The future is unwritten
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 71,105
No, it's not... one nation under God. It's... one nation, under God. See that comma? That's a separation of Church and State.
__________________
The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.
xoxoxoBruce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2007, 06:35 PM   #58
jinx
Come on, cat.
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: general vicinity of Philadelphia area
Posts: 7,013
Are you serious Bruce?
__________________
Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good.
jinx is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2007, 06:47 PM   #59
xoxoxoBruce
The future is unwritten
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 71,105
Would I lie to you.... my oldest and dearest friend... if it didn't involve money or sex.
__________________
The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.
xoxoxoBruce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2007, 06:51 PM   #60
Aliantha
trying hard to be a better person
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 16,493
I have to say that I wouldn't pledge allegience to a country/place/anything if the phrase 'under god' were included, regardless of commas.

Why mention god if there's no significance?
__________________
Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber
Aliantha is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:54 PM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.