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Unconstitutional pledges...
Jeff Jarvis writes on the 9th Circuit's declaration that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional:
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declared recitation of the pledge of allegiance in schools unconstitutional because of the words "under God."
I expect packs of conservative jackels to come out of their caves with fang bared on this one. But I also expect that this is the true test of the libertarians out there: I can't see how they could agree with the government compelling anyone to pledge anything, eh?

When I was in school, in the Vietnam era, I was one of those obnoxious kids who refused to say it and I stand by that right now. The government at any level should not compel me to pledge anything, including God; that would be unAmerican. And I'm not libertarian.
I heard about the opinion — it's today's whoopdy-doo news story — and it got the obligatory eye roll out of me.

As is usual in such cases, this is much more about ego than about religion or patriotism. I could make the argument that a reference to God isn't the establishment of a religion. But Jeff brought up the libertarian angle, and from a libertarian angle I can agree that no one should be required to make the pledge. I'd point out that good manners and run-of-the-mill-nothin'-special patriotism would dictate that one do so, but if you don't want to, that's fine. Suit yourself, bub. It's a free country.

But I'd also point out that the case in question involves a second-grader, and Jeff's example involves himself when he was a kid. And for kids it's a different matter. Children go to school to learn something, and one of the things they should learn should be to revere the country they live in. Part of that should be the daily recitation of the Pledge; certainly they get little else in the way of instruction in patriotism, with history having become social studies, the Founding Fathers condemned as rapacious racist landlords, and teachers occasionally burning flags in the classroom. The little 7-year-old darling can recite or not recite the "one nation under God" part — I doubt if anyone would care except her father and his ego. She won't be harmed by a reference to God, nor will she feel "threatened" unless she's mentally unhinged. I doubt anyone who's ever been to Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist country with wats and temples and shrines and statues everywhere, has ever felt "threatened" by not being a Buddhist. I doubt that anyone who's ever been to the Caymans, where there are routine references to God and religion in the curriculum and public life, has ever felt "threatened" by not being a Presbyterian. I feel a lot more "threatened" living in the United States, where people feel not only free but obligated to shove their views down other people's throats.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-06-26
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=5366