A response to the recent ruling of the Federal Appeals court of the western region of the United States, that ruled that the Pledge of Allegance should not be recited in schools:

"I think it should be banned, but for a totally
different reason. It should be banned because it
prohibits free thought. It is basically a brain-
washing technique used on children who have no
choice (or decision making ability) of whether or
not to say it. I think it squelches free thought
by making people believe that the American govt.
is ALWAYS right because you are forced to pledge
your allegiance.

This nation is built on the premise that the
people have the power, not the govt. and thus
pledging your allegiance to the govt. is basically
like forfieting your power to the govt. and is
inherently un-American.

I mean seriously, did you know what Liberty or
Justice meant when you were a kid? Did you think
about its ramifications? How many adults really do?
Why should they? They've pledged their allegiance
already.

Further, the American govt. has not always endorsed
"liberty and justice for all". What about black people,
native Americans, or Asians? All of them were enslaved
(if they were lucky, the indians got genocide).

The American govt. is not always right, and it is
the people's duty to change what is wrong. Pledging
allegiance to me is almost like 1984..."

-Aaron Cohen
-um...I mean, Ray Holmes...yeah...