I just want to start off by saying that I consider myself to be very patriotic. I cry at the Olympics when an American wins the gold and they play the National Anthem. Last night on the radio they played "Proud to Be an American" and I had tears running down my face.
However, this morning I was listening to the radio, and a woman called up to the Jack Diamond Morning Show and said that on Monday, nobody in her son's class stood to say the Pledge of Allegiance. On Tuesday, her son gathered the courage to stand and say it, and was joined by about 10 other students. They speculated that today, probably everyone in the class would stand and say it. This is all well and good, and the shows of patriotism I've seen since the attacks have really touched me.
However, this discussion led Jack and the rest of his crew on a very passionate, emotional tangent. Their main thought is that people should have to say the Pledge of Allegiance. That if someone is in this country, and is taking advantage of all the offerings of the United States, that they should be forced to say the Pledge. They talked about how this country was made up of immigrants and how people should be grateful and on and on and on. They were getting very emotional and crying out against how people who come to this country should be grateful, dammit! And if they don't want to say the Pledge, they should just get the hell out! Stop using our resources and leave if you don't want to pledge allegiance to our country!
It got to the point where I couldn't take it. I had to change the station. They often express opinions on that show that I don't agree with (most dealing with entertainment issues), but this bothered me beyond belief. To force someone who didn't want to to say the Pledge of Allegiance would go against what this country stands for. I've had discussions with a number of people lately about how we don't understand these religious conflicts because we've always been taught tolerance; freedom of religion, freedom of speech-the Bill of Rights. People come to this country because of our tolerance. And once we start eclipsing small liberties, the medium sized ones are next. Then big ones. It's a path we can't start down.
I don't remember the exact quote, but Benjamin Franklin once said something to the effect that people who would give up freedom for safety deserve neither freedom nor safety.
I know some restrictions have to be put in place. But as soon as we start going off the handle, that's the end. And that sort of knee-jerk patriotic reaction is exactly what we need to prevent from happening.
Current song in my head:
"'Till We Reach That Day" from the musical Ragtime