June 20, 2006

Oh help me Jebus

Dr. Rex Curry (I believe) dropped by and "argues that the entire Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional and should end. http://rexcurry.net/pledge-of-allegiance-newdow-rio-linda.html"

Dr. Curry, you are going to have to pardon me. I don't mean this as a personal attack in anyway, but I want absolutely nothing to do with this case. Are you right? Is the Pledge probably unconstitutional? Probably. You certainly know more about the constitutional law than I. Is it borderline fascist and ridiculous? Probably.

All of that doesn't matter. This is one of those fights that you can't possibly win. Oh sure, you might prevail in some courts. But wouldn't it be easier to simply write a check to Karl Rove's candidates in the sum of about 100 million dollars? Or break off a 10 or 20 million dollar donation each to James Dobson, Pat Roberson, Jerry Falwell and D. James Kennedy? Because that is what this case actually does. It writes the ad copy and direct mailings for the rightwingnuts. "Radical leftists hates America so much they want the Pledge of Allegiance ruled unconstitutional!"

And for what? Would we actually be a better society without the Pledge of Allegiance? Would it make one tinker's damn about poverty? About true religious freedom? No. It would not.

If we are to go to court, why not take on the "abstinence only" programs that endanger our kids and will result in thousands, if not millions of deaths around the world? Or torture? For Christ's literal sake, if we as a culture allow torture, then who in the hell are we?

Fighting the constitutionality of the pledge, no offense, is just as meaningless as conservatives (and some damn, weak, spineless democrats) glorifying flag burning and worshipping the flag. Let's fight the real battles for church/state separation. Let's address the real moral issues we face. Let's not raise money for the opposition and allow true extremists to paint all liberals as outside the mainstream.

5 comments:

Streak said...

I guess this is what passes for a discussion from you?

Streak said...

In fact, until Dr. Rex Curry can actually present a dialogue or meaningful communication beyond this, I am not interested. And the referring to yourself in the third person isn't helping.

Anonymous said...

Hey, you know what else is unconstitutional?

Perjury!

The first amendment is quite clear that NO LAW shall be passed restricting freedom of speech. As the strict constructionists like Scalia keep reminding us, it is not up to us to whimsically interpret the founders. They knew what they were doing. NO LAW does not mean SOME LAWS.

Ipso facto, abracadabra, perjury is unconstitutional.

"I was just exercising my first amendment right, yer honor."

-dave

Streak said...

Yeah, that strict construction argument is kind of like the "selective literalism" of the fundamentalists.

Thanks for stopping by, Dave. I always enjoy your comments.

Anonymous said...

UBUB is intrigued, UBUB really is. UBUB would like to humbly share UBUB's opinions on ths matter and UBUB urges others to do so as well.

UBUB shares Dr.Rex Curry's concern about a growing police state and the quasi-worship of government. UBUB has also spent time studying the history of education and from these studies UBUB has learned that both causes and solutions of social problems of all types are frequently defined as being located in public schools.

UBUB sees this in a similar vein and UBUB notes the apparent similarities between claims of flag desecration and allegations of persecutiuon of Christians. Just as conservative Christians, who currently control all three branches of US government, cry persecution when some oppose their hegemony through subtle or overt means, those who would support a form of "government worship," as described by rexcurrydotnet, similarly trump up rare instances of flag burning as an expression of opposition such that it can be defined as a crisis.

UBUB finds these phenomena to be eerily similar in that both are expressions of dominance and authoritarianism disguised as piety and patriotism. UBUB sees them as part of an attempt to further conflate spiritual religion and civil religion. According to UBUB, this is a way to advance the ideology of AmeriChristianity such that opposition to government is not only disloyal but heretical.

So, UBUB, you may be asking, who, then, is to address this crisis? Why the very institutions that the problem definers have pinned the blame on, the public schools. It is a matter of institutional control and control of individuals through those institutions. As UBUB has shown, the green grass grows all around and around and the green grass grows all around.

UBUB, the world's only source for UBUB. Ask for it by name.