Flag priorities....

[NeonSamurai]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

As I've gotten older I've become more unhappy with the Pledge itself. I can understand taking an oath to uphold certain principles as a part of induction into National Service, whether it's an office or the military, but I find myself believing less and less in loyalty oaths of any kind. I don't need to prove myself to anybody else.

Oaths are pretty meaningless, as people break them all the time. Those that would not break their oath(s) are already bound by their sense of duty, so they probably would follow their feelings of duty even without an oath.

But some people find it helpful to repeat such things to reinforce or refresh their sense of duty.

Of course it is also really easy to pervert concepts of duty, especially when mixed with a strong sense of nationalism.