Citizens of the great state of Texas, where I now live, are very proud of their state. Proud enough, in fact, that they've got their very own state pledge of allegiance. We found out about this a few months back while we were researching schools, because every morning all public schoolchildren in Texas pledge allegiance to the United States Flag, then pledge allegiance to the Texas flag, then sit for a moment of silence. We looked up the Texas pledge, and decided that it seemed to be innocuous enough:
Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one and indivisible.
The idea of pledging allegiance to a state flag seemed a bit strange to me, and as a proud New Yorker I wasn't sure that I liked the idea of my kids pledging allegiance to any chunk of land south of Battery Park, but I didn't have any serious problems with it. My wife printed a copy and stuck it in one of the letters she sent to the kids from Iraq, I stuck it on the fridge, and we told the kids that it would be a good idea to learn it.
Then the Texas State Legislature got in the game and everything changed. They decided that the old version wasn't good enough, but that it could be fixed by just adding a few small words. Now, the children are expected to say this every morning:
Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.
It's just four little words, but they're words that create problems for me where there were none before. All because a lawmaker in Texas decided that the state wasn't honoring God enough. Now I've got a problem that has no good solution.
My own religious views are mixed-up enough that I have a hard time deciding what they are most of the time. I cycle at random intervals between an uncertain agnosticism, a vague sort of deism, and a slightly less well defined pantheism. That really doesn't have much to do with why I'm so upset about the "under God" thing, though. Even when I had more traditional religious views (Roman Catholic, if you must know), I was just as firm in my conviction that separation of church and state is the best thing for both. Any time the state gets mixed up with religion - even just a little bit - neither wins. The Texas legislature has absolutely no business declaring the state to be "under God" -- or, for that matter, "under Allah," "under Buddah," or "under Wear."
I'm also firm in my beliefs that bringing religion into the public sphere really does harm to anyone whose personal theology doesn't match the public statement of belief. To you, it might seem like a good idea for everyone to remember that there's a higher being that we are all responsible to. To others, it might seem like a good idea for everyone to remember that holy scripture dictates that men part their nose hair to the left side, while women part it to the right. If the government takes a position on either the nose hair issue or the simple acknowledgment of a single supreme being, it sends a message to anybody who believes something different that they are not as privileged a member of society as those who have beliefs that align with the government's statement.
Those of us who don't believe that the state should be subordinate to a single supreme being can, of course, sit down and shut up. We can mumble our way through those two "innocuous" words and nobody will be the wiser. We can stay in the closet and hide our lack of belief entirely. It makes no difference. The message has been sent: anyone who can't get behind "under God" isn't as good a Texan, as good an American, as everyone else.
To me, this is just another example of religious people shoving their religion somewhere it doesn't belong, and I'm sick and tired of it. I was tired of it when a school board did it in Dover. I was tired of it when the Board of Education did it in Kansas. I was tired of it when serving military officers did it at the Air Force Academy. I'm tired of it now. I'm sick and tired of it, and I'm sick and tired of saying nothing about it. I've watched so many "little" violations of rights over the last few years that I'm not willing to tolerate another, no matter how "small" most people might find it. It was wrong of them to do it, and it interferes with my right to try to bring up my children to share my values.
The simple solution would, of course, be to exercise my right as a parent to opt my children out of the Texas pledge. How much fun do you think they'd have if I decided to do that? That assumes, by the way, that I would unilaterally sign an opt-out for them, ignoring my wife's equally strong belief that there's nothing wrong with the concept of "one state under God." (So let's add causing unnecessary domestic tension to the reasons I'm off the wall pissed with the Texas legislature.)
My two children are going to be the new kids in the class to begin with. They're coming into the school from somewhere strange and exotic. They're almost certainly going to be the only Army brats in the school. They're already separated from their peers more ways than I'd care to count. If I tell them that I want them to opt out of the Texas pledge, I'll be making them even more conspicuous; even more different. And we all know how much fun "different" can be when you're ten.
At the same time, there are things I've been trying to teach my children, and not telling them that they should skip the new pledge is going to make it a little harder - at least for me - to teach them some of the values that I think are important. I really do believe in the importance of our Constitution, and in the importance of the separation of church and state, and that's something that I want my children to learn from me no matter what religious beliefs or disbeliefs they may ultimately hold. I also believe very firmly in the importance of standing up for your own rights, and for the rights of others. That's also something that I want, very much, to make sure my children learn from me
The values I outlined may seem to be overly idealistic, if not naive. They may be far too removed from the realities of life today to be taken seriously. But I also believe that Margaret Mead was right when she said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- and that, too, is something I really want my children to believe.
Under the circumstances, not standing up for my beliefs feels every bit as wrong as telling my children to do something that will lead to their unhappiness. Neither solution is exactly what I'd call nice. The fact that it's all so damn unnecessary - that none of this would be happening now had the legislators of the great state of Texas just left well enough alone - is just icing on the cake.
So, thank you, Debbie Riddle. You patched the gaping hole you saw in the state pledge. My peace of mind is really a small price to pay for you getting to make sure that everyone in the state acknowledges God. After all, it's not like I had a right to expect that you wouldn't.
- Log in to post comments
Amazing how all it takes is someone to think "Hey, we have a gap in our pledge that doesn't honor God" and things get rolling? I can only empathize with your frustrations.
But in a bit of comedic light, I wonder if this will start other states to argue that thier state is more "under God" than another? Though perhaps a sick-twisted form of comedy at the tragic expense of the wall seperating state and church, I can only imagaine Alabama declaring their state more under Gopd than Texas or Mississippi or Arkansas.
People suck at leaving well-enough alone, it seems.
Oh, I just discovered my state's pledge (Louisiana). Perhaps Riddle was just jealous of her neighbors? I don't blame her. Louisiana sucks on many levels compared to Texas. If we're under God and Texas isn't, I guess that speaks volumes with respect to nature of Providence ;-)
/comedy
Go back to New York then! Geez. I'm sick and tired you out of state wankers comin' down here and then yackin' your jaw about how you don't like it here. Just fuck off then! And that goes for EVERYBODY from out of state. I don't give a fuck where exactly you're from! No one invited you here.
Aaron wrote:
So who invited you there? Certainly not the Mexicans and Native Americans who were there before you were.
Of Course Mrs. Authority could have insisted the Pentagon post her to a rational state like my dear unchurched Orygun. Keep close to the little Authorities you can keep them from falling to Wingnuttia.
As Aaron above clearly realizes, only an out-of-stater could possibly object to this, there clearly being no Texans who feel strongly about the separation of church and state.
I love how when you go to Aaron's MySpace page, there's a huge logo from the poster of "Clockwork Orange," which is among other things one of the most famous statements in cinema about the horrors of coercive authority. [Insert generic "Irony Meter" remark here.]
Mike,
You left Hawaii? For Texas?!? (Your profile still says UH/Manoa.)
Maybe you can use this topic for dinner table discussion. Your kids can hear how you and the Mrs feel about it and they can weigh in, too.
Mike, I see nothing naive concerning your feelings for the Constitution. As an atheist american I consider the Constitution to be my "bible", and I look upon every attack on and every compromise of its tenets to be extremely disheartening. Well, maybe not all. I disagree with the "right to bear arms" to some extent (it just doesn't seem that "arms" in modern society are as important as when the document was written, but I wouldn't ban them completely).
I can see no reason to pledge allegiance to a flag in any event, much less to a state "under god". A more foolish gesture I can't imagine. It compounds the symbolism to the point of being meaningless. You make a pledge to a flag of a country, then to the state, and in each symbolically, but not literally, acknowledge a god of some sort, not entirely defined. Add to that the fact that you are asking children to do this, and the whole ritual comes off as inane. I have this vision of the children of Texas eventually pledging allegiance to their country, their state, their county, the Dallas Cowboys, the cowboy way, and heterosexuality. Why limit the things you ask children to promise they will symbolically speak belief in.
Any reasonable person would ask why this exercise is even necessary. I never understand those who argue some portions of the curriculum should be taught at home, but the pledging of certain fundamental mores demands a public spectacle. What, are we Rome? (Yes I know Texans think Texas is bigger and better than Rome ever was).
Anyway good luck. I'm glad I had no problem like that.
Sorry, I just returned from a pub north of the border and ( even though I grew up in the States) I can empathize with your conundrum. Wow, from this perspective it becomes so easy to extrapolate "gun totin' Texans" to whom you pledge your allegiance. I know, I know, this shit is very important to people there, but honestly, if you could step back a bit and detach yourself (I know you can Mike, thus the whole point of the post) it becomes rather silly. Cheers to all of y'all! (Oops, that was a pleonasm).
Riddle? Where else have we seen that surname recently? Would she be family of Lord V.?
For what it's worth, my advice would be for you to ask your kids what they want to do, and tell them that you'll support their choice whatever it may be. Start 'em in the habit of thinking for themselves while they're young. I've done it with my kids, and now that they're teenagers, I'm pleased with the results.
You said: "My two children are going to be the new kids in the class to begin with. They're coming into the school from somewhere strange and exotic. They're almost certainly going to be the only Army brats in the school. They're already separated from their peers more ways than I'd care to count. If I tell them that I want them to opt out of the Texas pledge, I'll be making them even more conspicuous; even more different. And we all know how much fun "different" can be when you're ten. "
I say - emphasize the damn diffrence. Face it, your kids are NOT like the other little TX whelps like knucklehead Aaron. They should be happy as hell they're not! Opt out, make a big stink about it and F%&k the school / teachers/other kids if they can't take a joke.
This is America, not TX. If AAron doesn't love it, he can leave it. I suggest Iran since he likes theocracy so much. Hey Aaron - I'll help you pack.
Simply BRAVO!!!!!!
I am still a Roman Catholic. I still go to church. I still believe that the whole "Under God" thing is wrong.
To add rightpondian perspective, the whole idea of the pledge just seems a little creepy to me in the first place. The issue of god is a secondary creepiness. Kids aged five standing up and "pledging" "allegiance". How many of them know what that actually MEANS? And then there is the whole issue of collective oaths of loyalty that just has a sinister feel to it..
My family moved from California to Houston, Texas between my sophomore and junior years of high school, in the late 60's.
The public high school required the US pledge and someone read the Lord's Prayer over the intercom every day. This annoyed me, and I stayed seated once I realized what was going on. I knew of the Supreme Court rulings that students could not be required to participate. I went to the school library, read the relevant parts of the rulings, and decided to continue to sit and ignore the pledge and prayer in homeroom.
After a week or two, I was asked to go to the vice principal's office. There, I referred to the rulings and stated that they were breaking the law; I would not participate, and if they insisted, I'd insist on my rights; they would not be allowed to break the law. The vice principal allowed that as long as I did not disrupt homeroom, it was ok to sit quietly. And that was the end of the matter. No one ever said a word to me about not standing for the pledge after that. The Texas pledge was not done, as far as I can recall.
I'm looking forward to the day when some agnostic or atheist (or even theist who believes in strict separation of church and state) teacher refuses to recite the current US pledge (or now the Texas pledge), is fired, and then takes the firing all the way to the Supreme Court.
Everything here has been worth reading except for the comment of the troglodyte Aaron. I wish him well and hope that eventually he grows up to be something than a martinet.
Ironically, Canada avoids this sort of thing by having both a monarchy and, through the Monarch, a state religion, namely Anglicanism.
I liked Mark's comment. I'd ask the kids how they feel about it. Tell them you'll back them to the limit, and let them rub blue mud in their navels if they feel they must.
Sooner or later they'll reach a point where they either duck their heads and mumble, where they sit quietly and ignore--or maybe the state will be in the hands of rational government and the whole silly Loyalty Oath Crusade will be over with.
After all, what purpose has the Pledge of Allegiance at any level?
...one state, under Oklahoma... :)
FWIW - The Boy Scouts of America drifted toward religious exclusionism after they moved their headquarters from New Jersey to Texas...
"The message has been sent: anyone who can't get behind "under God" isn't as good a Texan, as good an American, as everyone else."
Welcome to Texas!
I, too, am uncomfortable with mixing laws and faith. I come from a tradition of independent, "local churches" where the members are convinced that the only good law is in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, maybe adding the 13th and 14th Amendments. But please don't ask about the 19th Amendment. You'll split the church. Again.
On the other hand, the "under God" phrase is a fairly generic deity, similar to phrases found in the Declaration of Independence. The whole thing is probably a backlash against the activities of the courts across the Nation, especially the rulings that threaten to take our Bibles out of glass cases on sidewalks and that interfere with Friday night football prayers.
I do want to assure you that it's unlikely that your kids will be the only "army brats" in almost any of our schools.
However, one thing you'll find in Texas is that the victim stand doesn't work, even in the grade schools. Independence is respected, and the stubborn ol' (or young) cuss near-worshiped. Maybe Yankees and carpet baggers assume you're not as good as we are if you stand out, but in Texas we expect you to be extraordinary. (Here, it is true that all our children are above average. We don't like some of the ways they choose to excel . . .)
If you're here in 09, we'll expect to see you lobbying at the Capitol for a reversal.
As one who went to New York state public schools when they had us mumble a prayer every morning written by the school authorities (although we had a godless pledge back then), and when there was "release time" each week for us to leave school and go to our respective meeting-houses (Catholic, Jewish, or Protestant only) for religious instruction, I think that you and your your wife and your kids will find many "teachable moments" as you grow through their educational experience. My parents and I certainly did as I grew through mine. (One of my best lessons? governments can and do act illegally and immorally without any smiting by god(s).)
For me, the true irony in the Texas pledge is the word "indivisible!" When the republic of Texas negotiated its way into the union (1845, AIRC), it reserved to itself the future right to divide into as many as five different states should the need ever arise to swamp the US senate with conservative votes. You could look it up.....
To all those who believe: if all you've got is beliefs, you don't have any knowledge. Beliefs are no different from opinions and opinions are often wrong. Knowledge wins every time. All those who think they know the truth, do search for St. Issa. You'll find otu that Jesus lived in India where he became a yogi and any yogi can do all the things Jesus did that were called miracles and they are all described in a book entitled How to Know God. You may say it's all lies or crap but do a search for "yogic flying" and you'll discover there are thousands of people who can do this all over the world and more are learning every day. Where did they learn how to do this? From the same source Jesus did. IT's called Veda. Look at www.invincibleamerica.org, www.mum.edu, www.globalgoodnews.com.
I am a Native Texan. My people were here before the War of Northern Agression. If you will check your Texas history (which is more glorious, extensive, and interesting than that of any other state) you will find that Texas joined the United States as an independent nation, and that Texas has the right to divide into as many as five states should we so desire. So far as I can find out that right is still in play. So the indivisible part of the pledge strikes me as a product of ignorance and cultural disconnect.
Now you know why the Texas flag is the only state flag which can be flown at the same height as the US flag.
The phrase "under God" was inserted in the US Pledge by act of Congress during the Eisenhower years of the '50's. At that time we were locked in a Cold War with "Godless Communism". "Under God" was, therefore, a political, rather than theological, statement to emphasize our political differences with Communism. Note that we fought WWII successfully with out "under God", and that the insertion correlates in time with the rise of Rock n' Roll, and the resulatant quickening downslide of Western Civilization.
President Bush thinks that Democracy is not a Christian idea only good for Christian Nations, but rather a universal human idea good for everyone in the whole wide world. Given that, and that we are locked in a life and death strugle with folks who believe in "One World Under Allah." as opposed to democratic secularism, perhaps we should consider removing the phrase "under God" from our national Pledge.