Back in the 1960s it was the practice at the grade school I attended (in nice weather) to have the students line up by class out in the parking lot. There was a flag pole there and we would all stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Each day one lucky student would be chosen to lead the recitation. Students were chosen by rotating from class to class. With six grades, and two classrooms per grade, this meant twelve classes. Volunteers would be requested, and since most students never volunteered, that meant the leaders in the Pledge of Allegiance rotated through a small number of students. I was one of those students.
I took great honor in leading the entire school in the recital, and when it was my turn I spoke the words loud and proud. My sister, Gayanne, would make fun of me afterward. She and her friends criticized everything and everyone.
It wasn't so much that I'm patriotic. Not in the sense one thinks of when one thinks of patriotic people, waving the flag and blindly following even stupid and morally wrong decisions. I have never adhered to the "you can't criticize those you love" dogma, which seems to be the teaching of Republicans in particular. To me, that is phony. Following blindly is hardly respect. It's stupidity, and I refuse to be that way.
Still, I love my country, despite growing older and learning it is a far from perfect place. Of course, if we only followed the rules and dogma we have set into law, it would be a wonderful place for everyone. But the words of our constitution, while majestic and royal, have never been applied across all groups of people. From the inception of our republic there have always been vast numbers of people denied the things promised in the constitution because people of power don't like them.
I remember as a child being confused about slavery. For one hundred years we maintained slavery. This was not consistent with the words I was taught from the constitution. Women weren't allowed to vote. Politically powerful people took tremendous advantages against people who had no power. The freedoms promised to everyone only seemed to exist for those who belonged to the group/s currently wielding political power. That is still true today.
Who is in power shifts, but generally political power seems to reside with those who have connections to a lot of money. Historically, these people have been white men, and so all white men are grouped with them. I don't think that's any more fair than excluding those who aren't white men from power. But my Daddy was a white man, and I don't see that he got a whole lot of special privileges. Back when I was a baby my family lived in a neighborhood in which we were the only white family. We were also the poorest family in the neighborhood and the others felt sorry for us.
True, had Daddy been of the right mind, he could have made himself more like those in power and probably advanced himself, whereas non-whites did not have that luxury. Daddy's problem wasn't his skin color: it was his social attitude. He was working class. An old style person in a modern world.
Political power is an ugly power, and those who wield it often eventually become ugly. It's inevitable. One cannot work with sewers and not develop an odor in their very skin. Back when I worked in a pizza restaurant (not fast food back then) I actually smelled like a pizza restaurant when I wasn't there. That was a good smell, I thought. The smell of politics is offensive to my sense of rightness.
There are those who hate the idea of having children say the Pledge of Allegiance. They maintain it is against their civil rights. Personally, I think we get carried away with things like that. Does it really hurt to show respect for the country in which one lives? People argue that the country isn't helping them. Well, I know where they're coming from. But they are missing the point, I think. We live here. And even if we're not happy with our lot, it's still home. It is sad when home is not a happy place to be. But I know about that, too.
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