Pledge of Allegiance - the Florida way
As the linked article states:
"A federal judge ruled Thursday that it is unconstitutional to require a student to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Judge Kenneth Ryskamp also ruled that a student does not have to get a parent's permission to be excused from reciting the pledge. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state Board of Education and state Education Commissioner John Winn on behalf of a Boynton Beach High School student who said he was disciplined for not standing during the pledge last year. Cameron Frazier, then a 17-year-old junior, was told by teacher Cynthia Alexandre that he was "so ungrateful and so un-American" after he twice refused to stand for the pledge in her classroom Nov. 8, the lawsuit said. Requiring Frazier to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance is "in violation of his First and Fourth Amendment rights," the lawsuit said."
The case was tried in West Palm Beach (home of the 2000 butterfly ballot and a Democrat stronghold) and OF COURSE this case was brought by the ACLU (also a Democrat stronghold).
Here's the deal. I went to Palm Beach County schools in the 1960s. We always stood for the Pledge and I think all of us said it and maybe most of us meant it. Kinda hard to tell with kids.
One thing I do know is, if some kid willfully "spat" on the Pledge in our presence, as seemingly is his Constitutional right, a few of his fellow students would exercise their perceived Constitutional right to kick his ass. But times have changed, I'm sure.
I don't want to give the impression that Floridians are an ungrateful lot or even particularly unpatriotic. But we do have a considerable number of unpatriotic citizens and a quite a few America haters. And it seems they all vote Democrat.
"A federal judge ruled Thursday that it is unconstitutional to require a student to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Judge Kenneth Ryskamp also ruled that a student does not have to get a parent's permission to be excused from reciting the pledge. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state Board of Education and state Education Commissioner John Winn on behalf of a Boynton Beach High School student who said he was disciplined for not standing during the pledge last year. Cameron Frazier, then a 17-year-old junior, was told by teacher Cynthia Alexandre that he was "so ungrateful and so un-American" after he twice refused to stand for the pledge in her classroom Nov. 8, the lawsuit said. Requiring Frazier to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance is "in violation of his First and Fourth Amendment rights," the lawsuit said."
The case was tried in West Palm Beach (home of the 2000 butterfly ballot and a Democrat stronghold) and OF COURSE this case was brought by the ACLU (also a Democrat stronghold).
Here's the deal. I went to Palm Beach County schools in the 1960s. We always stood for the Pledge and I think all of us said it and maybe most of us meant it. Kinda hard to tell with kids.
One thing I do know is, if some kid willfully "spat" on the Pledge in our presence, as seemingly is his Constitutional right, a few of his fellow students would exercise their perceived Constitutional right to kick his ass. But times have changed, I'm sure.
I don't want to give the impression that Floridians are an ungrateful lot or even particularly unpatriotic. But we do have a considerable number of unpatriotic citizens and a quite a few America haters. And it seems they all vote Democrat.
posted by RightinFlorida | 8:52 AM
10 Comments:
yeah boy!!!
I hear you, anonymous.
I still get pissed when I see or hear of someone...anyone...trashing our flag and country.
yeah that boy ROX!!!!!! I also hate it when people trash our beutiful flag that represents our free country!!!
Thanks for the comment, anon. Even when I disagree with the party in charge of our nation, I always love the USA. And that flag represents it.
I recommend reading the official transcription of the court case ruling if you haven't. The student was exercising his constitutionally granted freedom of speech which not only protects an individual's right to speak, but also an individual's right to refrain from speaking. This includes the student's right to stay seated. He was very respectful when he refrained from standing for the pledge. The teacher, on the other hand, was bordering on belligerent.
I consider myself to be notably patriotic. I have served in the Army for the past decade, to include serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. This allows me to draw the unfortunate comparison to more restrictive cultures in terms of a state-mandated oath. Historically, the comparison can be taken further to include Stalinism.
I fully support nationalism, but I also believe in a citizen's right to abstain from declaring such beliefs. That right is one of the things that makes our country great. To remove it takes us down a very slippery slope.
On a minor note, the court found that the student's First and Fourteenth (not Fourth) Amendment rights were violated.
Thanks for comment. Glad you're paying attention to this matter.
Justin, I'm more aware of the court case than you must think I am.
Americans can stand on our constitutional rights...that's what they're for and why people like you served.
But Justin, just because the young man stood on his rights DID NOT make him any less of a prick.
I live in Palm Beach County, I am an atheist and object to the reference to the United States being "under god". I also feel it is a patriots duty to constantly question the govt. The pledge is a promise to NEVER question the govt.
In a govt schools,that refuses to teach children the fundamental right to self-determination, the pledge is a tool to breed subordination. I will continue to allow my children to refuse to recite this socialist mantra.
A patriotic atheist. How clever of you to square that circle. How about you just read the pledge line by line (with/without the god reference) and tell me just where it says to never question the govt.? You're protesting the wrong thing I think. But your choice, of course, in this 'godly' nation. Thanks for your comment.
The pledge is useless propagandist nonsense. The SCOTUS already declared unequivocally in 1943 the freedom of conscience protected by the first amendment.
The pledge of allegiance to a flag has overt military and fascist connotations, the declaration of a nation "under God" is patently offensive to many, and the coercion involved renders any utterance void of meaning.
I have no qualms with those who swear to protect and defend the Constitution - but there is no need to invoke the flag or any God to do that. These are objects outside the scope of patriotism.
This type of indoctrination of students is relic of cold war propaganda. Intelligent students see this for the pap that it is, and the less intelligent accept as gospel that patriotism means unquestioning obedience to God and country. Hence the divisions in our polity today.
Well David...all I can say is see my response to Inquizitr@aol.com above. You're free, so far, to be patriotic or not in your own way. Same for religious or, for that matter, love of country. You're free to do so because so many Americans fought under that flag and loved the words of that pledge. You're free to spit on them as well. Such is freedom.
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