I invariably experience an uncomfortable moment at the beginning of each membership meeting for the Democrats in my Legislative District when the District Chair begins the proceedings by leading those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance. I don't want to make waves, but quite frankly, I don't really want to recite the Pledge either. I don't want to remove my hat or place my hand over my heart, and I'm not about to follow "One Nation" with the dubious "under God", which has no place in the pledge of a country with a Constitutionally mandated "Separation of Church and State".
But I have a bigger problem with the opening line. "I pledge allegiance
to the flag..." To the flag? The history of misguided zealotry and its tragic fallout is the history of symbols that have supplanted that which is symbolized as the object of dedication and commitment. This country has long harbored an ample supply of blustering "patriots" who sanctimoniously wrap themselves in the flag as they rail against those with the temerity to contest their vision for America. They equate debate with dissent, and dissent with treason, and are relentless in their efforts to quell the former and punish the latter, demonstrating through their words and actions that they have no affinity for the core ideas expressed in the documents that represent the ideological and legal foundation for the Nation they claim to hold so dear. The flag is just a symbol. It has no intrinsic meaning. And, in a sense, neither does "the Republic for which it stands". Because "the Republic" is nothing more than a symbol itself, one whose meaning is measured by the degree to which it reflects the essential character of the Nation's identity, expressed so eloquently in the opening words of its Constitution: We the People...
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. It's about us.
We ordained it. We established it. Our welfare. Our liberty. It doesn't mean anything without us. That's what I feel a sense of loyalty to. That's what I'll pledge my allegiance to.
The Declaration of Independence repudiates the kind of sentimental object patriotism that is shamelessly championed by the right and has long dominated civil discourse in this country when it insists that "to secure [our] rights (Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness), Governments... [derive] their just Powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government...in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
"Object Patriotism". The Flag. The Republic for which it stands. The Nation, and our "more perfect Union". Yellow ribbons and "God Bless America". These things represent social relationships, and they derive whatever meaning they have - sacred or profane, noble or contemptible , sublime or tragic - from the essential character of those relationships. I think this idea is something that has historically been difficult and elusive enough in the best of times. But in the current climate it has been completely obliterated, and the result is George W. Bush and his morally bankrupt agenda. Iraq, the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" mantra, nearly 1800 dead American soldiers, and Iraqi casualties numbering in the tens of thousands, if not the hundreds of thousands - men, women, and children, young and old, hostile, sympathetic, and apathetic - just tying to survive. The Patriot Act, Guantanamo, and Abu Ghraib. Tom Delay and Karl Rove. Worldcom, Global Crossing, Enron, and crony capitalism run amok. Walmart, Nike, and exploited labor - workers who can't make a living wage or afford basic health care, outsourced jobs and displaced laborers. The Bankruptcy Reform Act - written by representatives of the credit card industry it blatantly panders to, and promoted by congressmen who have been bought and paid for. The rejection of the Kyoto Accords, drilling in ANWAR, and policies that threaten to gut the environment in an effort to coddle multi-national corporations and their short term profit objectives. A congress intent on running roughshod over the 14th Amendment by securing a Constitutional Amendment (banning same-sex marriage) aimed at denying rights to some, rather than defending the rights of all. And parasitic politicians cravenly propping up the "living" carcass of Terry Schiavo in a spectacle so ludicrous and appalling it eventually alienated many of their own supporters. All of this while genocide rages on in Sudan, AIDS continues its rampage through Africa, and people in Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka waste away from famine and disease in the wake of a catastrophic tsunami that our president couldn't even deign to comment on initially... And against this perverse and macabre backdrop, we are treated to the height of constitutional irony and absurdity: an anti-flag burning amendment.
I pledge allegiance to the flag...
I don't think so. I pledge allegiance to the idea that "government of the People, by the People, and for the People, shall not perish from the earth"... At least not without a fight.