Karin

> I just learned where that damned pledge came from (a socialist that pushed
to
> get it into schools in the late 1800's) and that the "under God" part was
> added in the 50's by a very fundamentalist Christian group.
> Dh and I went to a music in the park thing that is very popular here and
they
> did the pledge in opening the concert. I couldn't say it, but I did stand
up
> respectfully with my hand over my heart. I felt like a hypocrite even
doing
> that, but didn't want to start a debate with our friends.
>
> Ren
>


Just recently my conservative MIL asked my boys (9 & 11) if they knew the
Pledge of Allegiance and they didn't really know it. She challenged (bribed)
them to learn it by telling them that if they could say it by memory when
they saw her next, she would pay them some money - a whopping $2.50 each! My
boys almost didn't do it because they said $2.50 was not enough to go
through the trouble of memorizing it - but they did it anyway to please her,
mostly, and just to prove to themselves and her that they could do it. They
did memorize it - it took about an hour with me helping them. They recited
if off perfectly for her - she was VERY impressed and gave them the money.
Oh yeah, they started to recite it for her at first and didn't have their
hand over their heart and she stopped them and said it didn't count unless
their right hand was over their heart. Now - about a month or two later -
they both still DO remember most of it. I remember every word of it from
when I was in school. My feelings are that I just went along with it all
figuring that saying something against it would do much more damage than me
keeping my mouth shut. At least they don't have to say it every day, when
class starts, looking at the flag, like I did when I was a kid, not really
even knowing what I was saying.

Karin