I Resign

October 3, 2012

       This is my letter of resignation from the civil religion. I don't care about flags and songs. Civil symbols without principles are meaningless.

       I was not asked if I wated to join. It was assumed, like my attending church. My parents went, therefore did I. In the case of the civil religion it was practiced in school every morning. We stood and made the pledge of allegiance to a rather colorful piece of cloth. No one asked if I did this by my free will. The teacher said do it so we the pliable youth, fearful of punishment, did.

       The American flag is rectangle of cloth. By itself it means no more than the old t-shirts in my closet. Patriotic songs are meant to tug at the feelings indoctrinated into me by the school. Mark this: I believe in the founding principles of this nation, that all men are created equal, that the law stands above men, that freedom and justice are things we should strive for.

       But we are not. The ruling class has taken the reins of power and none of the responsibility. They wave the symbols of the civil religion to spark the ingrained reactions, while they trample the founding principles into the dirt. The symbols mean nothing without those principles.

       I take back my allegiance given unwittingly in school rooms. I will not stand for the flag, I will not place my hand over my heart I will not utter those words again. The things that have been done in the name of that flag sicken my heart. I will not honor the national anthem. I strike from my personal songbook the hymns of the civil religion.

       I affirm my allegiance to the principles of the Constitution. I will point out those that have broken the oath of office "to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States". Yes, the worse foes of the Constitution and the people are in the houses of government. The Taliban hasn't done nearly the damage to our county and our rights as Congress and the President.

       I affirm my allegiance to the principle of non aggression. "No human being has the right -- under any circumstances -- to initiate force against another human being, nor to advocate, threaten or delegate its initiation."

       But I quit the civil religion.

 

 

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