Pledge of allegiance.

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Spike
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Pledge of allegiance.

Unread post by Spike » February 6th, 2008, 11:59 am

This is not a political commentary, or positioning statement by me regarding the ongoing Presidential debates etc ... Just an observation on my part on our freedoms as Americans. I am involved with wrestling. My non-MV hobby. I am always amazed at how some people will not stand still; put their hand over heart or not remove their hat. If these cretans are close enough to me I'll say something to them, firm but politely. What is even more surprising is how someone will even have a conversation during the pledge or when the national anthem is being played/sung. Disrespectful. I find myself in Canada from time to time and I show their patriotic tributes the same respect as I do ours. My rant of the day, I guess. I know that this is an international forum I'm sure that you can relate this to your own country, or appreciate it if you are an ally.


John McCain's remarks about the Pledge of Allegiance


"As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room.

This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.

One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian. Mike came from a small town near Selma , Alabama He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country and our military provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.

As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing.

Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed it on the inside of his shirt.

Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance.

I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.

One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it.

That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could.

The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room.

As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag. He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.

So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world. You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country."
As iron sharpens iron ...

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rickf
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Unread post by rickf » February 7th, 2008, 7:19 pm

I am not a big fan of McCaine since I think he milks his imprisonment for political advancement but I wholeheartedly agree about the pledge. If you are uncomfortable with it or do not want to do it then freaking leave and go where you do not have the choice to pledge allegiance.
Rick
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

Litz
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Apathy

Unread post by Litz » February 7th, 2008, 11:09 pm

Those who do not appreciate what they have, will be the first and loudest to cry when they lose it.

Litz

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