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Why Liberals Fear the Pledge of Allegiance
By Jan Ireland
February 2, 2004

Liberals fear schoolchildren in America reciting the Pledge of Allegiance each day. They say they object to the under God phrase, the jingoistic nationalism, or the imaginary offense of the Pledge to minorities. But the hidden reason is that they have carefully encouraged the illusion that America is a democracy, and they fear schoolchildren reciting the Pledge will eventually notice the words. Not the words "under God"; the words "and to the Republic".

Our schools teach civics so poorly many Americans don't recognize a mistake when America is called a democracy. Warning bells don't go off when politicians say a law should be passed because 'most Americans' want it. Political correctness makes some minorities more equal than others, and globalism wants to redistribute what Americans have produced because we are said to have more than our fair share. The Uriah Heep UN greedily grasps any bit of power weak-minded liberals are fawning enough to cede to it. And all this is done in the name of being democratic.

But democracy is not the system of government our Founding Fathers set up, and it never should be. Direct democracy can be exceedingly dangerous to freedom. It can actually render a country ripe for takeover. Yet liberals still attempt to employ it, often right under our noses.

The sixties radicals wanted immediate redress to their particular list of wrongs, and literally took to the streets to demand it. They seemed to be trying to change American minds, and thereby policies and procedures, by sheer force of numbers and decibel. Their attempt at direct democracy left property damage, deaths of innocents, and likely increased rather than diminished the alienation they felt. (Unfortunately many of the sixties radicals cut their hair, shaved their beards, and threw out the flowers and headbands. Then they got jobs in universities and the EPA, or became trial lawyers and activist judges. In those positions they use their influence to impose the leftist agenda on America directly, though it's difficult to even type the word democracy in conjunction with them.)

The most galling recent example was probably the liberal attempt to claim the 2000 presidential election for the democrat candidate. Liberals said that Gore had a majority of the popular vote and was therefore the winner. The same script is being repeated three years later, though liberals know full well that the Constitution requires a majority of electoral (not popular) votes to win the presidency. And there is still that nagging question of how many popular votes for Gore came from the many suspected cases of likely voter fraud.

If a simple majority of popular votes was all that was needed, two or three huge urban population centers (say New York and one or two others) could literally control all election outcomes in America, with the heartland of America never having a voice. So it's not surprising that many liberals have called for the demise of the Electoral College, calling it outdated and not representative of the people's direct choice.

Direct democracy could be used by other countries against us. Mexico could quadruple the number of illegal aliens it sends here, combine them with liberals, and vote to return California to Mexico. Middle Eastern terrorists could bypass our immigration laws, or physically enter from Canada or Mexico, in numbers enough to constitute a popular majority, and then vote to place our government under Islamic fundamentalist law.

Direct democracy is attempted at the highest levels. Bill Clinton's famed poll watching was a clumsy attempt at direct democracy. He simply took constant innumerable polls, hoping to catch the wave of American majority opinion. His constant waffling would have been humorous, had he not actually been president at the time, and had he not created messes that we are still dealing with today.

The National Education Association is getting poorer at hiding its attempt at direct democracy. They're trying to get our children just after diapers, with universal preschool. The idea that the state is a better parent is straight out of communism and socialism, yet NEA claims it just wants to give every child in America an 'equal' start.

The NEA has also switched the educational focus in America from equality of opportunity to equality of outcome. With this has come the dumbing down of academics, and the differencing down of athletics. The specious Title IX programs purport to seek equality for girls, but actually are a swipe at the maleness of boys. The UN is beginning to implement International Baccalaureate programs in our middle schools, to feed into existing high school IB programs. Of course they have a global citizen curriculum, and again the path for socialism is being cleared.

Reading the Constitution once clearly shows that the Founding Fathers set up a Republic. When you read this article, start asking family and friends what kind of country we live in. But carry a copy of the Constitution with you. If the answer you get is 'a democracy, of course', show them the Constitution. Many you talk to may never have read it.

The Pledge of Allegiance: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

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Jan Ireland has a BA in English, masters in counseling and advanced training as a certificated teacher. She receives mail at: janirelandreplies@hotmail.com.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.