A boy and his flag: Why Will won’t pledge. »
Posted By epiphannyy 1 week, 3 days ago in News"Liberty and justice for all?"
Will Phillips doesn't believe that describes America for its gay and lesbian citizens. He's a 10-year-old at West Fork Elementary School in Arkansas, about three hours east of Oklahoma City. Given his beliefs, he refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
That did not go over well with the substitute teacher in his fifth-grade classroom.
The Arkansas Times reports that he started refusing to say the pledge Mon., Oct. 5. By Thursday, the substitute was steamed. She told Will she knew his mother and grandmother and they would want him to recite the pledge.
Will told the Times the substitute got more and more upset. She raised her voice. By this point, Will told the newspaper, he started losing his cool too, adding: "After a few minutes, I said, 'With all due respect ma'am, go jump off a bridge.'"
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epiphannyy
"I will tell you, I am a liberal; I am a progressive. But, you know what I really am? I am a "bleeding-heart conservative." Yes ...
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epiphannyy1 week, 3 days ago
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What does being an American mean?
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“Freedom of speech,” Will says, without even stopping to think. “The freedom to disagree. That's what I think pretty much being an American represents.”
Somewhere, Thomas Jefferson smiles.
That pretty much says it all. This kid represents the future hope for America that we aren't going to be run solely by Rush-fed robots. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with his reasoning for objecting to pledge allegiance, you have to respect his integrity and character for standing strong. I hope he realizes what a great strength that is and how rare it is to find in anyone these days, let alone a 10-year-old child. I hope the school sends that teacher back to school herself for a lesson in Constitutional rights. This issue was settled nearly FORTY YEARS AGO in the Supreme Court. Children don't HAVE to pledge allegiance if they don't want to, and they don't have to justify themselves beyond the point of stating it is against their personal or religious beliefs. It's pretty sad that a 10-year-old boy knows more than the teacher employed to educate him. -
rshibridgeComment removed: Retracted by user
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ConquerorWyrm1 week, 3 days ago
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I too will not pledge allegiance to a flag. My pledge is as such...
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"I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the Republic with which it binds, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Pledging allegiance to an idea, a concept, a Law is far more practical than to a cloth.-
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joppass1 week, 2 days ago
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ConquerorWyrm
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18 hours, 21 minutes ago
To: ConquerorWyrm
You write; I too will not pledge allegiance to a flag. My pledge is as such...
"I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the Republic with which it binds, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Pledging allegiance to an idea, a concept, a Law is far more practical than to a cloth.
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The flag is just a piece of cloth only when the colors are used in any way other than the flag. The flag stands for "I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the Republic with which it binds, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Don't you know that!!
When you disrespect the Flag of the United States of America
you disrespect the ideals it stands for and you disrespect all our military, past, present and future. You disrespect all
everyday, loyal, hardworking Americans.
PS: You left out one thing "under God"
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frctm51 week, 2 days ago
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The pledge is the sort of thing you would expect to find in communist or fascist countries. The pledge should read like this.
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I pledge allegiance to the principles of freedom, justice, human rights,and self government upon which this nation was founded and to my leaders and the current government to the extent that they honor, observe, and defend these timeless principles. -
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lloydm651 week, 2 days ago
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Well there it is,being a real American adult is not a requirement to be a member of Propeller.An eleven year old kid all by himself decided he was in charge.Every day the members of our government,our military,and immigrants say the pledge of allegiance,but not Will he's pi$$ed because his parants who I gather are gay,or want him to be doesn't have a handle on this little punk ass.
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epiphannyy1 week, 2 days ago
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lloyd, I would just like to take a moment to correct a few errors you've made above:
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Propeller isn't an "American" site, in case you didn't know. We have members from all over the globe.
Will is 10-years-old, not 11.
Will's parent's aren't gay, nor do they push a gay agenda. Will is a child who "analyzes everything, looking at both sides of each situation" because he wants to be a lawyer someday. In other words, he's a smart kid so I can see where you might find him threatening to the America you want to perpetuate and preserve. Knowledge, intelligence, and free-thinking aren't exactly the kind of attributes that you and your ilk try and inspire in each other.
I do find it telling that the only opposition this kid receives is by those who seem to be offended by the fact that his objection has to do with gay rights. No one will refute his charge that there is no "liberty and justice for all" gays in this country. They just get upset that he seems to WANT that liberty and justice for all gays as well as everyone else.
And, by the way, he's not deciding he's in charge. He's exercising the right of dissent that every American is ensured under the Constitution. For you to try and deny him that right makes YOU the one who is un-American, not him. YOU are what is wrong with this nation today. Will, on the other hand, is what gives hope that tomorrow's America will remain the free republic our founders fought and died in order to establish. -
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ForrestPhelps1 week, 2 days ago
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To: lloydm65
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You wrote: "Well there it is,being a real American adult is not a requirement to be a member of Propeller." - That is correct. Some of the people you interact with on Propeller might be from foreign countries.
But some on Propeller applaud this young man for standing up for what he believe in.
Even worse to someone who thinks like you:
Some on Propeller who applaud this young man for standing up for what he believes in -
FOUGHT FOR HIS RIGHT TO DO THIS.
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weyenberg446 days, 21 hours ago
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i think that sucks, we should send his ass over to another poor country or some dictatorship and then well see how he feels about standing up and saying the pledge. God damn what is with all of these unpatriotic Americans these days.
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joppass4 days, 22 hours ago
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The boy is too young to make such a life-defining decision.
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At his age he should be taught to appreciate and respect the
way of life that he lives here in America.
If one cannot bear alegience to and uphold the ideals and principles that our flag stands for they do not deserve to
live here. That includes all of you people praising this boy whom someone had been brainwashing.
Where are his parents?
One more thing: If you don't vote you don't deserve to
live here either. You are getting a free ride.
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