Many children are not given the option of opting out of the recitation... my HS used to give detention to students who were unwilling to speak the pledge...
-----Original Message----- From: Hatton Humphrey [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 1:26 PM To: CF-Community Subject: Re: CNN Breaking News Let me start this by saying that I am in no means trying to attack Beth or anyone else on the list that is non-Christian... I don't have time nor do I think this is the right forum to go into religous standings or histories. The thing that bothers me is twofold. On the one hand there is the strong case for the removal of religous references from national pleges and other things. Not everyone practtices the same religion... and in some cases the same religoun is practiced and interpreted in a wide veiretly of mindsets. For that side of the argument, there is the fact that making statements of "Under God" violates their right to practice the religon of their choice or even not to practice one. Most are content to "opt out" of joining in with the recitation, some find even being exposed to it an offense. However, there is the other side of this argument that we do live in a representative democracy. The concept that "majority rules" does and has been the rule of force since the inception of our nation. The point of this side of the argument can be made in the fact (source: http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html , Top Twenty Religions in the United States, 2001 (self-identification, ARIS)) that as of 2000, 76.5% of the population of the Unites States identified themselves as Christians. How much of that population is represented by this ruling and by the trend that we have been on in the last 30 years? The other thing to note is that these changes and dissenting opinions have been around for a very long time, but it is only now in an age where effort is being made to let everyone be happy that it is starting to become very obvious that not everyone is going to win. The scenario of a straight religous vote, assuming that the numbers cited from a graduate level research project are accurate, are rather telling of that. What is alarming isn't the ruling that was made, it's the apathy that most of the American public will view it with. That's the part of this that really bothers me. We can debate it until everone is pissed at everyone else and we've degraded to personal attacks, but we're a very, very small percentage of the population. The apathy in what the system is doing to us will tear this nation apart long before the actions being taken do. Hatton Beth Fleischer wrote: >>Then guess what, you don't have to say it. I don't agree with forcing >>someone to say it, but at least stand and show respect for the >>flag and >>what it represents. >> > > The flag doesn't represent a country under god, it represents a > country. And in our country one has the freedom to not show respect > for this country. I am proud of that. > > You are welcome to optionally say "under god" if you like, but it > shouldnt' be officially in the pledge. > > >>You turned out fine though, didn't you? ;) >> > > > Actually I turned out with a great caution for you folks who think this > country has anything to do with god on an offical level. > > ______________________________________________________________________ Get the mailserver that powers this list at http://www.coolfusion.com Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
