I'm bit late, but I have something to say about the recent decision concerning the Pledge of Allegiance. I was going to let it pass until I read Lance Morrow's article in Time magazine. I don't necessarily agree with him, but he raised some good points.

First, and most importantly, the phrase "under God" did not exist in the pledge until 1954. This, to me, exhonerates the pledge itself so long as the phrase in question is dropped. It is a clear connection between church and state, the end.

What is more interesting is whether or not the God-less pledge should remain in schools. What purpose does it serve? Yes, it is meant to give young Americans respect for the flag and our country, but we all remember how everyone slouched and mumbled their way through it. Patriotism should come from a belief that your country country is just and works for the people, not from a song or a pledge or a t-shirt saying "These Colors Don't Run." Oh, and it especially shouldn't come from a firefighter. My favorite quote from the article says it best, I'm all for patriotism and all for religion. But they need to be watched. Sometimes patriotism becomes the next-to-last refuge of a scoundrel.

Patriotism has become brain-washing and our president is one of the culprits. I don't mind having memorials or ceremonies but only if our government is working hard to make me want to be patriotic. This is why all the "patriotism" over the last year has rubbed me the wrong way. It's tough to be patriotic with a president and executive branch that is generally idiotic.

And so, I pledge to be patriotic when the government collectively removes their heads from their asses. Oh, and I'm looking mostly to you Bushy.