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Pledge to the Flag

from It Isn't All That We Do by No Strings

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Letter by Harriette Wagner
Music by Bela Bartok + tulkinghorn

(image by Terbit Nurcahya Basuki + Harriette Wagner)

lyrics

May 25, 1981

My middle school son recently elected to remain seated during the pledge to the flag. He did this out of a deeply-felt conviction that he could not, in good conscience, repeat this pledge any longer. As an agnostic he was not comfortable with "under God" and felt it to be an intrusion of church into state. He does not believe that there is "liberty and justice for all" and, moreover, wishes to reserve the right to evaluate his degree of support for this country as the situations requiring it occur.

He was directed by the principal, to whom he'd been sent by the teacher, to produce written permission that he be allowed to remain seated. While I appreciate the fact that no one attempted to compel him to stand, and that they did listen respectfully to his explanation, I am, nonetheless, concerned over the role that the school is playing.

I understand that it is expected that one patriotic activity be carried out daily, an exercise, I submit, in the propagandizing of our children. I would find it encouraging if considerably more effort went into teaching them how to think, critically, than into what to believe. A pledge made to the effect of, "My country, right or wrong" hardly develops rational, skeptical thought.

In our home we promote the concept of loyalty to one's species, believing that lesser loyalties, including nationalism, do violence to the hopes for world peace and, to the extent that they are successful, threaten human survival.

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from It Isn't All That We Do, released December 13, 2019

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No Strings

No Strings is a Mother/Son duo recording a wide variety of original songs, jazz standards, rock/pop/country/folk songs + spoken word presentations.

Upcoming ME-related Shows:
5/9...Orchard Post
5/10...Bethal Lutheran
5/12...Oakwood Gardens
5/12...Countryside
5/13...Gateway Clovis
5/14...Cedar Creek
5/15...San Joaquin Gardens
5/16...Madera Rehab
5/17...The Grove

matthewembry.bandcamp.com ... more

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