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September 27, 2005
Alleged Allegiance
Today is a textbook example of a neo-con plunging headfirst into a topic where he really doesn't have a clue, just the typical talking points he hears on right wing radio. The whole "god is unconstitutional" storyline leads into the debate over the...wait for it...Pledge of Allegiance. (I'm using a lower case "g" in the word "god" because Stantis never specified which god we're talking about - for all I know he's talking about Mick Foley.
For me personally I never did get the idea behind a Pledge that all Americans were expected to make or suffer the penalties of being humiliated by your teacher by being forced to stand in the corner and be called a Communist. Looking back it's kind of weird to think of classrooms filled with children reciting a speech proclaiming their devotion to a flag, but whatever.
Carmen, however, loves the Pledge and can't believe when Winslow (wearing his ever so cute "PCPD" t-shirt, but I'm betting he's still not wearing pants) takes a marker and blocks out most of the words. You see, silly stinky liberals aren't happy just getting the word "god" out of there, they want to remove anything that resembles a noun.
Surpisingly enough Stantis's representation of how the Pledge should be censored looks eerily like the transcripts to the Nixon Tapes, the 9/11 Committee Report, and the Official investigation into the Pat Tillman cover-up. I wonder if Scooter even realizes that.
But remember before when I mentioned that Stantis was jumping right into something he probably knows nothing about? He did this before, talking about there being no wolves in Alaska. Here's a pretty thorough timeline centering around the Pledge, and I'm betting the red half of the country is unaware of the real history of our recital to a flag.
There you have it: the Pledge was originally a salute to Columbus finding us in 1492. That's right - wasn't about 1776, wasn't about Washington or Lincoln, it was about that guy who thought he went around the world and instead goofed and hit land halfway there. Thanks to him an entire country referred to Native Americans as Indians because the moron thought he was in India.
My favorite part though is that "god" doesn't even appear in the Pledge until the 1950s when Eisenhower put it in there. Come on, admit it, how many of you neo-cons who read this strip knew that? The ones I've talked to had no clue and always changed the subject when I drop that bombshell on them - I wonder how they feel knowing it's a tribute to Columbus of all people. Of course they're the same ones who send out that email that says all of the states had "god" in their state constitutions when they were first written, and it's just not true. For pete's sake people, check Snopes.com before blathering on about this crap.
Anywho, back to today's strip - I think instead of the Pledge we should have our kids recite something else. How about Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA," or Lee "Whatever happened to me" Greenwood's "I'm Proud To Be an American?" Ooooh - Neil Diamond's "They're Coming to America" would be cool - a bunch of 6-year-olds dressed in rhinestones and dancing on their desks would be a REAL tribute...to a flag.
Comments
You know, the biggest cliche about Springsteen fans is that they all say, "You know, 'Born in the USA' isn't a patriotic song."
To whit:
Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man
Of course, that fits the conservative view of life - all problems can be solved by a good war. No wonder Reagan and Dole were so ticked when Bruce Springsteen asked them to stop playing the song at campaign rallies.
Posted by: Anonymous at September 27, 2005 08:30 AM
Good post, Furnace!
Posted by: FredN. at September 27, 2005 12:15 PM
Thanks Fred. Stantis makes it easy sometimes.
Posted by: The Furnace at September 27, 2005 12:28 PM
It's the joke so nice he did it twice:
[url=http://tinyurl.com/9t592] Another Stantis 'toon[/url]
Posted by: Mysterio at September 27, 2005 01:07 PM
http://tinyurl.com/9t592
Same joke.
Posted by: Mysterio at September 27, 2005 01:07 PM
Coming tomorrow: Cats removed from the "Meow Mix" jingle?
Posted by: Sacki at September 27, 2005 01:14 PM
Nice post! I never knew that about the Pledge.
Posted by: JB at September 27, 2005 02:01 PM
I thought today's cartoon looked familiar. What shameless laziness!
Posted by: Annie at September 27, 2005 02:03 PM
Sorry 'bout the double post, BTW.
Posted by: Mysterio at September 27, 2005 03:07 PM
Speaking of Stantis' editorial toons, did you know that everything bad in the United States is actually Bill Clinton's fault? It's true!
http://tinyurl.com/9t592
Posted by: Mysterio at September 27, 2005 08:58 PM
