Friday 20 November 2009

Pledge

An unfortunately worded news item on the radio yesterday morning, informed us that H1N1 is now available to anyone who wants it.
I think I'll pass if that's ok.

The weather yesterday evening was...well, biblical. Thunder, lightning, sleet, flash-flooding, hail, bigger hail, intense hail that the windscreen wipers couldn't cope with, and then more thunder and lightning.
Over the past week or so, three metres of snow have fallen at Whistler.

If you haven't yet seen this video clip of a ten year-old boy in Arkansas who is refusing to stand for the pledge of allegiance until it actually means something, please, please watch it. It speaks to me in many ways. Normally, I can't stand precocious children, well, and that stands, because this kid doesn't come across as precocious at all. He is just a very bright kid who can't see why the words 'liberty and justice for all' in the American pledge of allegiance, doesn't include gay people, and why there is still racism and sexism in the world.
He intends to be a lawyer - if in fact he survives the constant homophobia he is now enduring at school.
I'd like to say, I think he'll be a very fine one.

3 comments:

Sleepy said...

I can't stand precocious kids either but he is brilliant!
His parents should set up an account where we can all make a donation to put this boy through college!
They'd get $100 from me, no problem.

karemay said...

Wow! What a terrific, articulate kid. His father was obviously and rightly proud of him. He will make a great lawyer in the future.

Schneewittchen said...

Yes, I liked the way the dad was obviously supportive too.

The newscaster annoyed me right at the end though, he was trying to wrong foot the kid by introducing an irrelevant argument. The fact that when asked, slightly more Americans were against human rights than were for it, simply says that a slight majority of Americans don't understand what they are saying when they pledge allegiance, not that since they have democracy, then clearly justice and equality MUST be being served. The kid couldn't possibly say that or he'd have been even more vilified.

Even the argument about democracy isn't correct, since there are democratically elected leaders who are supposed to vote on behalf of those they represent, and the best interests of those they represent are not served by pandering to their prejudices, but by being shown what is right.