Yesterday, my boss was proposing an idea to our operations department and I was listening in. “I want to put pictures of all our field people on the wall so we have an idea of who everyone is.” While there were a few jokes about mugshots, we all thought this was a great idea. I know I, for one, have a hard time matching names with the various faces, which, since I’m in HR, is not the friendliest impression. He continued, “I want them to stand in front of a flag.” Before I could stop myself, I made a face. He looked at me. “There are some companies that start their day with the pledge of allegiance.”
“You’d never get me to do that,” I replied.
“I think we’d better stop this conversation right now.”
The vice-president chimed in, “You’re just like that atheist that doesn’t want the pledge said because of the word `God’ in it.”
At this point, regretting that I hadn’t been able to control my reaction, but not really wanting to get into a political/religious/philosophical discussion, I went back to my office, fairly peeved.
Here’s my thing. The flag has become such a meaningless symbol since 9/11. Everyone is displaying it, using it for backgrounds, printing it on letterhead. I refuse to contribute to its degradation. It is a symbol of a wonderful country (though not always the most likable), and thus deserves to be treated with respect. Instead, its presence is so overabundant that it has become meaningless. I often want to ask the users if they can describe the symbolism and history of the flag (because there’s a reason that it looks as it does).
I have a similar beef with the pledge. First of all, my objection to it has nothing to do with my religious beliefs. I take issue with rote learning, particularly rote learning in children. If a child wants to say the pledge, that’s fabulous, but they should be able to understand what it means, and then have the choice to not say it. I also object to bringing politics into the classroom in anything other than a class exercise. Let’s face it, that’s what the pledge is. It was instituted during the Cold War and has been foisted on unsuspecting children ever since.
I’m somewhat annoyed that the hoopla over the religious aspect of the pledge has caused people to believe that that’s the only reason someone would refuse to say it. It’s become the knee-jerk response: she won’t say it therefore she must be an atheist. It’s become almost convenient; no one wants to hear that there might be other reasons. God forbid that anyone other than atheists would object to the pledge.
Tags: flag, pledge of allegiance
