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Politics : Electoral College 2000 - Ahead of the Curve
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To: The Philosopher who wrote (6624)2/19/2001 11:10:51 PM
From: mst2000  Read Replies (2) of 6710
 
I think you miss my point completely. What I am saying is that you can't force patriotism or love of country upon people under threat of coercion -- and that a "pledge" to a piece of cloth is empty compared to inspiring people to respect what that piece of cloth stands for through actions and deeds, and without coercion of any kind.

The point about Nazi Germany is that fascism was built on coerced indoctrination -- allegience to symbols, and to the state above all (and its embodiment in Adolf Hitler). And when you deride the "slippery slope" argument, I think it fair to say that few in Germany in 1929 would have believed it possible that a fascist like Hitler would come into power, and lead Germany to the atrocities and genocide committed in the name of nationalism and racial superiority there. And, for that matter, one need only look to the manner in which the Nazi persecution of the Jews was implemented to understand that you begin to impose fascism and genocide through small steps before you leap into the abyss -- in that case, the persecution began with a few symbolic laws, then escalated into the stripping of various property rights, and the forced wearing of identifying yellow stars, then the relocation of Jews of all classes from their homes into ghettos, and then the relocation of those people into so-called work camps and refugee camps in the east -- which turned out to be death camps implementing Hitler's final solution to the "Jewish Problem".

Lovers of civil liberties should shudder at least a little when significant components of our society place so much importance in symbolic demonstrations of patriotism (and indoctrination of our youth) through such techniques as the forced reading of the pledge of allegience and the imposition of discipline againt those who decline to participate. It stands against everything this nation stood for when we fought for and won independence from Great Britian at the end of the 18th century to mandate that our children read a pledge of allegience to a flag under threat of coercion.

I'm not just being argumentative -- I mean it (every word of it) very sincerely.

MST
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