The Pledge of Allegiance is Brainwashing

reply to post by bjax9er


What does that have to do with the Pledge of Allegiance? Stay on topic. If you find that upsetting you should find the pledge upsetting, as both are statist brainwashing.

But no, get continued to get played like the political fiddle fodder you are.

Originally posted by smwoop
Meanwhile our country is turning to # thanks to people dissing on a pledge that has been around since the beginning and pushing the Obama "Change"

Dude, the success of a country has nothing to do with whether or not people say some mystical pledge.
Secondly, "under God" wasn't added to the pledge until over a hundred years later, out of fear of communism.
Thirdly, the "God" in the pledge doesn't specify any religion, although you undoubtedly claim it to be the Christian god, because that's your religion.
Let me guess, you're one of those people who thinks dinosaurs were here 4,000 years ago and the fact that we can see light from stars billions of light years away is because God just magicked it there?

Originally posted by smwoop
You do know that America is a Christian nation don't you, hence the "Under God" part.

No its not. This country was founded on freedoms. One of the original reasons was to get away the smothering of the church in england.

"Under God" was added in the 50's I think. I am an American citizen and would not claim to be part of any religion, so why should or would I repeat a pledge that has been changed so the church can create some form of power for itself? Keep religion completely out of politics.

On the subject of the OP, I love this country, I love the land, I love the people(most of them) and because of this love I can and will speak out against the government when they go wrong, will hold them to task when they mix religion and policy. There is a huge difference in loving your country, and loving the leadership/direction it is on. Patriotism is something that should be learned and earned by the actions of the country, not force fed down impressionable childrens throats.

Here is my response video:

______________________________________________________________________________________

I pledge allegiance to stupid IFC channel. 'cause i watch it every day and now 'i'm like really stupid.

Stella....Stella, I coulda been a contenda.

IFC, it's for me. One cable channel under the satellite in the sky.

For liberty and "are you talkin to me? You must be talking to me 'cause there aint nobody else here"
______________________________________________________________________________________

That said, i dont think a few lines can brainwash a human.

I wouldn't say the pledge in school. Not because I don't care about my country BUT because I don't approve of the government and did not approve of that particular "God" and even as a 12 year old I was VERY aware of what it was and why it was there. I was punished for refusing to do it... Probably because I was in a southern school and if it ain't white and Christian it sure as hell ain't right!

Do I like the idea of having "freedom?" Certainly!

Do I have "freedom?" uuuuuuummmmmm....

I still believe what I believed as a teen. A slave is a slave no matter what you call it. And the "government" and corporations of this country are still working together against us slaves. I REFUSE to support that and will continue to possess such an opinion no matter what the sheep think I "should" believe or how they think I "should" act.

Originally posted by SilentKoala

Originally posted by smwoop
Meanwhile our country is turning to # thanks to people dissing on a pledge that has been around since the beginning and pushing the Obama "Change"

Dude, the success of a country has nothing to do with whether or not people say some mystical pledge.
Secondly, "under God" wasn't added to the pledge until over a hundred years later, out of fear of communism.
Thirdly, the "God" in the pledge doesn't specify any religion, although you undoubtedly claim it to be the Christian god, because that's your religion.
Let me guess, you're one of those people who thinks dinosaurs were hear 4,000 years ago and the fact that we can see light from stars billions of light years away is because God just magicked it there?

No my religion does not matter in this. I would hold my beliefs to myself as to not infringe on other peoples'. But for the record I do believe in God and so does the majority of the US. Go ahead and practice the Freedom of Religion that America grants and don't tread on me.

--
to OP


If it was really a 'problem' at a young age your parents would take care of it. Such as was done at my school because there was a few parents with constant complaints to ruin it for everyone thanks to them not believing in God and forcing their no religion blah blah blah on everyone else's kids.

If i didn't say it since the 5th grade then why am I so brainwashed? Oh wait, the pledge has jacksheet to do with it.

Don't fix whats not broken. Since when has saying a pledge to the country been harmful? Do you see anyone that says it go out and do harm? If you don't want to say it then don't say it... oh wait.. you did!

Originally posted by WaterBottle
reply to post by bjax9er

 

What does that have to do with the Pledge of Allegiance? Stay on topic. If you find that upsetting you should find the pledge upsetting, as both are statist brainwashing.

But no, get continued to get played like the political fiddle fodder you are.

edit on 4-2-2013 by WaterBottle because: (no reason given)

typical leftist response.

i thought the topic was state indoctrination, propaganda.
is it not?

the video i posted is a perfect example of indoctrination, and propaganda, directly from the state run public schools.
even worse these leftists are teaching children to worship a politician, as if he is a god.

but hey, keep whining about the pledge.

And the video you posted is just that. Marxist propaganda.

reply to post by WaterBottle


I enjoyed the pledge of allegiance. If as an American you disagree with any form of patriotism or sign of loyalty to your country, people, and land or any other form of Americanism, then leave. Stop trying to change the nature of a country and a people. I wouldn't expect people from France to stop eating croissants because they are fatty, or ask that Japanese stop fishing their waters dry because of their customs. WHY is it ok to try to irradiate every form of OUR customs and traditions. As your OP pointed out, it has been here for quite some time. The hell gives anyone a right to side with some "progressive" AGENDA over the tranquility and stability of our customs and the unity they instill in us. Ask an immigrant trying to become an American what he thinks of these sort of ideas that enjoy defecating on our national symbols and traditions....

The world is big and diverse, but I dont see the level of solidarity and brotherhood that Americans enjoy. OUR nationalism is a sense of an extended family while others have only used it to commit atrocities. We use it for a sense of unity....LOVE and honor for that unity. We are one people and this sort of tradition is not a problem. It is what makes us have the drive to face what ever challenges that may come to the country together....as one..

Anyone that would argue against fraternity and brotherhood, LOVE of country, people, and land, are not exactly part of the solution IMO.....

Get the hell out if you dont like it. Move to where ever you get these retarded ideas that frankly, are insulting.

reply to post by bjax9er

typical leftist response.

Political trolling

i thought the topic was state indoctrination, propaganda. is it not?

This thread is about the pledge of allegiance, that's it. It is said nationwide on a daily basis for years.

the video i posted is a perfect example of indoctrination, and propaganda, directly from the state run public schools.

So is the Pledge, yet you have no problem with it. You are a hypocrite driven by political ideologies.

but hey, keep whining about the pledge.

But no, get continued to get played like the political fiddle fodder you are.

And the video you posted is just that. Marxist propaganda.

No sense made.

I find this thread title very racist and offensive.
What is so white about the pledge?
Can black or brown folk not pledge just the same?

reply to post by zedVSzardoz


Your appeal to tradition fallacy isn't working on me....sorry.

If as an American you disagree with any form of patriotism or sign of loyalty to your country, people, and land or any other form of Americanism, then leave

Nope. That's rather anti-American of you. This is supposed to be the country of freedom of ideology and speech. Not the land of ostracism.

Stop trying to change the nature of a country and a people.

That's what the pledge did, sorry. The "official story" is that it was coerced upon schools by a guy selling flags. It was a marketing scheme. Look it up.

I wouldn't expect people from France to stop eating croissants because they are fatty,

The pledge has nothing to do with being American... It's a statist chant forced on kids...started in the 1800's, then went religious in the 50's.

WHY is it ok to try to irradiate every form of OUR customs and traditions.

Appeal to tradition fallacy...

And it surely isn't my custom or tradition. It's forced on you as a child, you have no choice over it if you go to a public school.

. The hell gives anyone a right to side with some "progressive" AGENDA over the tranquility and stability of our customs and the unity they instill in us

The pledge was written by a socialist.......

. OUR nationalism is a sense of an extended family while others have only used it to commit atrocities.

Oh really? Our nationalism has allowed for the invasion of Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea......

The nationalism and will to invade the middle east after 9/11 was SICKENING...

We use it for a sense of unity....LOVE and honor for that unity

Yeah...I don't see it.

Get the hell out if you dont like it. Move to where ever you get these retarded ideas that frankly, are insulting.

So brainwashed, how sad.

Originally posted by g146541
I find this thread title very racist and offensive.
What is so white about the pledge?
Can black or brown folk not pledge just the same?

That's the name of the comedy group that made the video......

But I'll change it for people that don't know

Originally posted by smwoop
No one is forced to do it, you even admitted it yourself saying you sat out.

Just because you're unpatriotic doesn't mean you have to ruin the pledge for everyone. Some people like to say it because maybe their family has spent years working/sacrificing to get us where we are now. You do know that America is a Christian nation don't you, hence the "Under God" part.

And yeah, my school did stop us from doing it due to parents complaining, much like you'd be if you were a parent. So don't come off as a sarcastic know-it-all.

How do you know the person is not patriotic? You don't have to stand with your hand on your heart and say a pledge every morning (or however often it is said) to be patriotic. Patriotism comes from being proud of your nation and history, not by a brainwashing mantra that you feel obliged to take part in due to peer pressure.
I always thought it a bit communistic to have to stand pledging a love for your country (insert government too) on a regular basis in school.

Scottish people are fiercely patriotic but we don't feel the need to pledge outloud to our country every day, we know in our hearts that we are patriotic and that is more important than standing saying something out loud just because the system tells you to.

reply to post by WaterBottle


I see and thank you.
ATS prides itself in not being racist.
I do agree that the pledge is brainwashing, it makes kids want to go to other countries and murder people and claim "it was the right thing to do"...brainwashed.

Well opting out of showing respect to the flag which represents your country seems pretty anti-patriotic to me.

Just as it was said earlier it is an American custom and everyone always wants to change them.

--

Also all of history has been about war and violence. Don't blame it just on America for being good at it.

It's not even possible to brainwash a human with 4 or 5 lines.

reply to post by smwoop


The pledge was created by a guy using it as a marketing tool to sell flags. I don't see how a commercial is an American tradition. The government then picked it up to use as a brainwashing scheme, seeing how successful it was to sell flags...it could be used to sell many other things to the American public..like wars.

Blind nationalism sparks the US vs THEM mentality. They wouldn't want you questioning or protesting the government now would they...That would make you anti-American. You BETTER pledge allegiance to the US and be a good little worker ant.

n 1891, Daniel Sharp Ford, the owner of the Youth's Companion, hired Bellamy to work with Ford's nephew James B. Upham in the magazine's premium department. In 1888, the Youth's Companion had begun a campaign to sell American flags to public schools as a premium to solicit subscriptions. For Upham and Bellamy, the flag promotion was more than merely a business move; under their influence, the Youth's Companion became a fervent supporter of the schoolhouse flag movement, which aimed to place a flag above every school in the nation. By 1892, the magazine had sold American flags to approximately 26,000 schools. By this time the market was slowing for flags, but was not yet saturated.

In 1892, Upham had the idea of using the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus reaching the Americas to further bolster the schoolhouse flag movement. The magazine called for a national Columbian Public School Celebration to coincide with the World's Columbian Exposition. A flag salute was to be part of the official program for the Columbus Day celebration to be held in schools all over America.

The Pledge was published in the September 8, 1892, issue of the magazine, and immediately put to use in the campaign. Bellamy went to speak to a national meeting of school superintendents to promote the celebration; the convention liked the idea and selected a committee of leading educators to implement the program, including the immediate past president of the National Education Association. Bellamy was selected as the chair. Having received the official blessing of educators, Bellamy's committee now had the task of spreading the word across the nation and of designing an official program for schools to follow on the day of national celebration. He structured the program around a flag-raising ceremony and his pledge.

His original Pledge read as follows:

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to* the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all"



(* 'to' added in October 1892).

The recital was accompanied with a salute to the flag known as the Bellamy salute, described in detail by Bellamy. During World War II, the salute was replaced with a hand-over-heart gesture because the original form involved stretching the arm out towards the flag in a manner that resembled the later Nazi salute. (For a history of the pledge, see Pledge of Allegiance).

In 1954, in response to the perceived threat of secular Communism, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God," creating the 31-word pledge that is recited today.[3]

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by WaterBottle

Your appeal to tradition fallacy isn't working on me....sorry.

what exactly is Tradition fallacy? Are you saying that traditions do not exist? 0.o
Besides I dont really care what you think, I am not trying to convince anyone that their traditions are not traditions....somehow....

Nope. That's rather anti-American of you. This is supposed to be the country of freedom of ideology and speech. Not the land of ostracism.

Like I said I dont care what you think or say. I suggested you leave instead of trying to make the majority change because YOU, the minority, dont like something. Sitting here trying to convince people to rally behind YOUR view that this is a bad tradition, or non-tradition...lol is undemocratic. WE LIKE IT. The vast majority of us do, so maybe if it bothers you so much instead of insulting us, and saying we are brainwashed, OH ENLIGHTENED ONE, leave us to our national symbols and traditions.

That's what the pledge did, sorry. The "official story" is that it was coerced upon schools by a guy selling flags. It was a marketing scheme. Look it up.

I dont care what it was made for, It is what WE have made it. Vibrators were made as medical devices to be used by trained professionals, but today they are used by everyday amateur masturbators world wide.....

The Pledge of allegiance is a symbol of unity and national identity. It may change like any symbolism does and may have evolved over time. Since I wasn't around when it was made, and wont be around after I die, I will focus on what it means to us today thank you...your appeal to historical nonsense will not work on me......

The pledge has nothing to do with being American... It's a statist chant forced on kids...started in the 1800's, then went religious in the 50's.

That is your opinion. TO MOST it is a national symbol as well as a part of our identity. IT IS very much one of our traditions as the OP states, its been here for quite some time.

Appeal to tradition fallacy...

Appeal to nonsense on your part by pulling terminology out of your ass.....unless you invent a time machine and remove the pledge from our history and make us stop doing it nationally since 1942, it will continue to be part of our TRADITIONS.

And it surely isn't my custom or tradition. It's forced on you as a child, you have no choice over it if you go to a public school.

so because YOU dont see it as a tradition YOU embrace you try to disqualify it from the rest of us, which is insulting.....and not very American on your part. WE CHOOSE to keep it. YOU dont so you try and force your opinion of it onto the rest of us. A minority trying to sway the thoughts of the many......sound familiar folks...yeah, brain washing....just to your particular flavor of it.

The pledge was written by a socialist.......

AND? The Bible was written by nomadic murderers who believed in ghosts.....doesn't make it less important to us. IT is what WE make it. WE choose to identify with it.

Oh really? Our nationalism has allowed for the invasion of Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea......

NO, that was special interest groups. Many people arent in the military because of a pledge or patriotism. They are there because life ran out of options for them, and so they tried that and liked it. Others are there for patriotism but they dont invade a country because of it. They do as the leaders of this county which WE voted in tell them.

With or without bad leadership we would have patriotism. THAT is part of our history. We were born of a revolution paid for with the blood of patriots. You cant erase that with any nonsense and play of words. Empire is made by war. The USA is OUR country first and foremost before any aspirations of empire our leaders may have.

The nationalism and will to invade the middle east after 9/11 was SICKENING...

Dont even MENTION 9/11, I am a New Yorker and will not maintain courtesy with you if you try and spin 9/11 the way the idiots on the other side of the isle from you did. Dont even. We are talking about the Pledge of allegiance. NOT how 9/11 was used to make a war in Iraq. That has absolutely nothing to do with this topic and is really low of you to try to spin it to your favor using a tragedy. A FALSE security threat is completely different that Nationalism.

REALLY. how dare you.

Yeah...I don't see it.

You wouldn't. Your view is a little constrained considering where your head is.

So brainwashed, how sad.

Indeed. brainwashing is sad. You must be depressed often when people resist yours.

reply to post by WaterBottle


Then I would suggest you find another country to call home, one you would be happier living in...like Russia maybe... it’s nice there this time of year.