CLICK HERE FOR BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND MYSPACE LAYOUTS »

Saturday, October 29, 2005

To Stand or Not to Stand...

The other night, I was in an argument with my mother. I had told her that I no longer stand for the pledge at the beginning of school, and naturally, she was appalled.
The way I see it, if the government is taking away our constitutional freedoms, why should I stand? I mean, let's look at what this is saying to us:
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Of the United States of America.
And to the Republic for which it stands
One nation, under God, indivisible,
With libery and justice for all.
Mom asked me, "Do you agree with this?" My answer is yes. However, the way I see it, liberty means freedom. If the government is taking away the rights that were laid down in the Constitution, (the Patriot Act) such as our right to privacy (a.k.a. the government can't search or seize anything in our homes without valid evidence of anything illegal going on), or the freedom of speech (which will probably be going next, thanks to our lovely President Bush), then what is the point of standing? I hate to say it, but America, the country that we all adore, is going to hell in a handbasket.
Mother's argument to this is that since my great-grandfather fought in WW2, I need to stand to honor him and the other U.S. soldiers.
Counterpoint: there are other ways to honor the men who help keep this country free, such as keeping a shadowbox, Veteran's Day, ect. It's not that I don't support our troops, it's that I don't support how our government works. And if we aren't careful, our beloved government will turn out like the one in 1984, by George Orwell. For those of you who haven't read this book, I suggest you do.

Big Brother is always watching us.

0 comments: