Russell Chapman wrote: > Doug wrote: > >> Why is it so important to indoctrinate our children if our country is >> so great? >> >> Doug > > > Maybe its greatness is in part due to the citizen's faith and belief > in their country and the precepts listed in the pledge....
Hmmm, do you mean its greatness is due to us drumming it into our children at a young age that we are great? Doug Who believes that turning a critical eye inward is far more important than boasting in the matter of said greatness. Me: 1. I am (genuinely) in awe of Russel's ability to understand something that central to the American identity better than most Americans, particularly better than most of those on the left of the American political spectrum. 2. An inward critical eye is all well and good but _nothing_ can be achieved without some level of self-confidence. The belief of the American people in the virtues of their system is, I think, the single most important factor in the continuing success of the American experiment. It is also rather singular, actually, as no other country in the world even approaches the American consensus on politics and ideology. Many books in political science have been written on this topic - some of them are even good. There is a difference between boasting and reinforcement. I differ with you, Doug, in that I don't see something like that as boasting at all. It's a critical part of forming civic character. The United States is an agglomeration of 300 million people bound together by _nothing_ other than a political ideology. Not ethnicity, not religion, not even (given the size of the country) geography. All we have is a common belief in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Something like the Pledge in schools isn't "drumming it in" - it's the bare necessity that allows the United States to exist. Gautam
