Student sits during pledge of allegiance; gets chair kicked out from beneath him

[AFTT47]

I think coerced acts of patriotism are foundationally un-American. They smack of Soviet propaganda rituals or Hitler Youth ceremonies.

This sums up my thinking perfectly. I think the founders would not approve of things like the Pledge of Allegiance. It's nothing but state propaganda. A classroom of children mindlessly speaking somebody else's words like robots is not at all in the spirit of this country as founded. Programming blind obedience to state into our children doesn't strengthen us - it weakens us. Strength comes from a diverse group of people who all think for themselves.

Robots who blindly follow their programing have their uses. They're great in an assembly line. A population of people who do that though are not going to contribute much to a society. The founders of this country understood that. They were all mavericks. They wrote a constitution which favored the free-thinker, making sure that his or her voice could not be silenced. IMHO, that is one of the fundamental reasons this country rocketed to its position as the wealthiest, most advanced and most militarily powerful country on the planet. Great things happen when minds are unleashed.

Perhaps the most revolutionary thing about this country when it was founded was that the government was not protected from criticism. The lowliest of peasants could say whatever he or she thought of the government or of any member of it. There are no sacred cows here and that is a strength! People speaking their minds expose our own flaws and weaknesses. Only then we can fix them.

This country was not built by compliant robots. It was built by troublemakers, rabble rousers and malcontents.