Although I don't wish to be argumentative, I am sure it depends upon what
history books you are reading, but we had something called the
"Revolutionary War" that provided our country with its independence. To say
that Britian "gave the U.S. up" is far from valid. I am proud of my country,
I have a deep respect for those who have sacrificed their lives for the
freedoms I now enjoy. It is selfish to ONLY look at one's own
accomplishments without recognizing the impact other's decisions have had on
me. I am even more proud of the Christian heritage upon which America was
founded and believe that a departure from the very foundation of our
forefather's hearts is a big mistake. After last year's tragedy in NYC and
Washington DC, the very core values, morals and beliefs American's (in
general) hold true came to the surface and the word "prayer" was heard on
television stations around the world. The Pledge of Allegiance is a
combination of love of country and love of heritage and love of moral
values. Our flag stands tall today because of that mix and tomorrow, the old
red, white and blue will fly high as we celebrate "One Nation Under God".
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Barker" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 03, 2002 10:07 AM
Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] OT: Pledge of Allegiance ? Was church and state
> Sorry I can't resist responding.
>
> Actually I don't personally have a strong point of view either way about
the
> Royal family, they bring in lots a tourist money or so I'm led to believe.
> I think they can still exist, but I think we should get rid of all their
> power and stop paying them any money.
>
> I don't sing the national Anthem (of Britain), as I'm an agnostic and not
a
> great supporter of the crown, so "God save our gracious Queen", etc, would
> be a bit hypocritical of me.
>
> Maybe my question sounded sarcastic, but I actually wanted to know, I
don't
> really even know what the pledge of Allegiance is. I assume it's some
> patriotic speech about America and that would make me cringe even if
Britain
> had the same. I personally see Patriotism/Nationalism as a very dangerous
> thing, it's elitist, it's saying I'm proud, not because of myself, my
> character or personal achievements, but because I was born one side of an
> artificially defined border, separating one country from another ("nothing
> but accident of birth as the dividing point.")
>
> I was taught in school, that Britain gave up the US, or rather didn't want
> to spend more money and effort trying to defeat the uprising when they
> didn't assign much value, at the time, to America. India with all their
Tea
> was deemed more valuable. How times change.
>
> Regards
>
>
>
> Richard
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Berkowitz [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 03 July 2002 16:47
> To: 'Richard Barker'; [log in to unmask]
> Subject: RE: OT: Pledge of Allegiance ? Was church and state
>
>
> Richard Barker writes
>
>
> Actually, seriously, why do you have a pledge of Allegiance
>
> Insecurity :-)
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> Actually, seriously, why do you need divide people into two groups:
> Commoners and royalty, with nothing but accident of birth as the dividing
> point. Add to it the toadying of the commoners to the royalty. Why
should
> Tony Blair bow to Mrs. Windsor-Mountbatten, but not not the other way
> around? He worked himself up to his current position on the approval of
the
> majority (voters), has. Can the same be said of the residents of
Buckingham
> Palace?
>
> Mike Berkowitz
> a republican with a small "r" on this Independence Day, the day we told
> royalty to take a hike
> Guess? Inc.
>
> * To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
> * etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *
>
>
* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *
|
