PERSONALLY, I DON'T CARE IF I DO OFFEND ANYONE BY THIS!!!
I PLEDGE ALLIANCE TO THE FLAG OF AUSTRALIA AND TO THE COMMONWEALTH FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!
MY GENERATION GREW UP RECITING THE AUSTRALIA ANTHEM EVERY MORNING IN SCHOOL WITH MY HAND ON MY HEART. THEY NO LONGER DO THAT FOR FEAR OF OFFENDING SOMEONE!
LET'S SEE HOW MANY AUSSIES WILL RE-POST THIS AND NOT CARE ABOUT OFFENDING SOMEONE.
Ah, I get where you are coming from Mate, but get rid of the horrible bastardisation of American pledge of allegiance which reads "I PLEDGE ALLIANCE TO THE _AMERICAN_ FLAG AND TO THE _REPUBLIC_ FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, AND JUSTICE FOR ALL".
This is a rehash of an American call to Nationalism, bastardised to change a few words to put it in an Australian context.
We didn't recite our national anthem, we sang it with gusto, although in our day it was God Save the Queen! And today nobody is ashamed of singing Advanced Australia Fair, or Waltzing Matilda for that matter!
We aren't a Republic, we aren't one nation under God - in Australia we have separated Church from State.
I'm not offended by the sentiment, just saddened by fact that someone tried to shoe-horn a set of American sentiments onto a Australian way of living that doesn't and shouldn't need it.
Let's do one better and find a truly Australian way of expressing pride in our Country and it's achievements! ;-) Any ideas?
er, see ya at half past...
Still circulating now 4 years later in 2015
ReplyDeleteThe Lazarus thread reborn, or nothing ever really dies on the internets!
ReplyDeleteA few points...
Just to be clear, the American pledge definitely reads "allegiance" not "ALLIANCE". Part of the bastardisation no doubt.
Yes you are right to call it out for what it is. Bastardisation of a call to nationalism, contextually misplaced, and intended for the ignorant.
Now witness in 2017 a resurgence of nationalistic fervour, with the far right-wing, science-deniers and neofascists making an excellent showing of politics and public debate.
As for your claim that we have separated church and state, I now call you out.
To begin with, read our constitution. The very first paragraph seeks to invoke "the blessing of almighty God" in validation of the text which follows. The only other clause dealing with religion, section 116, assumes that all Australians will adhere to one or another, but makes it quite clear that none will be made obligatory. Nowhere does freedom from any religion actually get a nod at all. Section 116 has never been contested, by the way, as the High Court has stated that it cannot agree on a legal definition of "religion".
Next, take parliamentary prayer breakfasts, school chaplains and the religious oath parliamentarians are expected to take on beginning their representative careers. Although it is technically feasible to "opt-out" of the last of these, the act of doing so actually outs one as an atheist, and creates a handy target for scorn and derision among segments of an hostile media pack.
When I attended a suburban Sydney school in the 60s, besides singing "God save the Queen" (with gusto, of course), we were obliged earnestly to declare that we would "Honour my God, serve my Queen, and salute the flag", without actually knowing what any of that gibberish meant in reality. We also had to bow our heads and close our eyes as the Lord's Prayer was recited.
Once I was proud to be an Australian, but now I'm not so sure. Our country tortures refugees on remote islands, joins in unjust conflicts with great enthusiasm in even remoter parts of the world, and demonises Muslims - now that Asians are apparently not so bad after all.
It does all this with much back slapping and exhortations of how great we are, despite the poor becoming poorer and gap between them and the rich growing ever wider. In other words, you can co-pay the doctor, while the company which owns the local hospital just won part of a $50billion tax break.
Perhaps you could find a way to incorporate those sentiments too?
Cheers,
Peter B.