[ For those interested in an alternative to the Pledge of Allegiance, please see: The American's Creed ]

I pledge no allegiance to an amorphous system of politics and political parties that masquerades as the governmental caretaker of a nation of free people.

I pledge no allegiance to a system infected with the cancerous idea that the maintenance or acquisition of partisan power should take priority over the furthering of the ideals of freedom and the wellbeing of its citizens.

I pledge no allegiance to representative bodies made up of members whose votes are prostituted to party affiliation, rather than driven by introspection and dictates of conscience; to a judiciary willing to suffer its own castration at the hands of those it is charged with watching over; to an executive that chooses to disregard laws and constitutional limits at will, and that labels those who disagree with it as traitors and cowards.

I Pledge Allegiance

I pledge my allegiance to the ideals of freedom, liberty, and responsibility upon which our nation was founded.

I pledge my allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, in general, and to the Bill of Rights, in particular.

I pledge my allegiance to the men and women who serve in the armed forces of our nation; who serve, but do not decide.

I pledge my allegiance to my fellow citizens; to the hope that all will realize the precious, and in some ways, fragile nature of freedom, and that it is worth defending; to the exposure and eradication of tyranny in all its varied forms; to the effort to remind government that its powers are derived from the consent of the governed.

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why? ShadowMonkey (Unregistered) 2006-10-16 15:35:10 I've been asked many times about this site, and about why I started it. The above is at least part of my answer. -sm Quote

Grow up Lee (Unregistered) 2006-10-16 15:47:19 You are a foolish child. Quote

re: Grow up admin (Super Administrator) 2006-10-16 15:52:18 Well, gee, Lee. Thanks for stopping by. If you've got some opinions on the matter, please expound on them. ...always willing to listen to a different point of view. -sm Quote

Political parties and George DarqueWing (Author) 2006-10-16 23:06:14 ... Washington, that is. Old George had some interesting thoughts on party affiliations. Quote: I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally. And one of my favorite political quotes of all time: Quote: The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. It serves always to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. In no uncertain terms, our esteemed first president thought that political parties were a distraction, even a source of discontent and discord. What would the original "Dubya" think of this modern one? What would he say about our modern state of affairs, with a map of "red" and "blue" states, with our shameless partisan politics, and our current one-sided government? Quote: The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty. Yup, that about sums it up. I'll take that pledge, too, ShadowMonkey. Quote

Lee boomsquared (Unregistered) 2006-10-17 09:54:17 We may all be foolish children to cling to our ideals...but then again, so were the framers. Quote

Framers DarqueWing (Author) 2006-10-17 11:40:57 There are a lot of interesting ways to refer to the guys that fought for and won independence here in this country. Some say freedom fighters, some say founding fathers, some say framers. (For some reason, there's a lot of alliteration there...) But let's face it, folks - they were revolutionaries. They rebelled against an established, recognized government. If it happened today, they'd be whisked away in the middle of the night to some secret prison in Guam or Uzbekistan or Libya or, worse, New Jersey. They would be traitors. Remember that famous flag that Ben Franklin put together, with the various colonies represented as parts of a snake, and the motto, "JOIN OR DIE?" They weren't kidding - their lives were on the line, because if they got caught, the rebellion was over and so were their lives. In a different time, they would've been called guerilla fighters, or insurgents, or traitors, or anarchists. And they did it all, amongst other things, to fight against taxes that were pretty insignificant compared to what we pay today. Why mention this? Because they knew what it was like to have to fight the insidious power of an entrenched and utterly uncaring government. Instead of leaving the code of the government to an unwritten constitution, like Britain (seriously, unwritten), they decided that they would be transparent, open, and plain before their citizens. They decided they didn't want to be the same kind of arrogant, unforgiving, and indifferent government that they had just won independence from. Pay attention to what's in this "Pledge of Non-Allegiance." It outlines some of the very things that our "framers" hated in the British system that have cropped up yet again: shameless partisanship (Whigs? Democrats? Tories? Republicans? Any difference?), arbitrary abuse of power, and a system that allows for the accumulation of obscene amounts of power in a single person or body of people. Checks and balances - it's supposed to keep everything tied up nicely, but it can't when the self-serving party system has usurped the power of all three branches of government. How about, instead of electing yet another harvest of gray-haired hand-shakers who have no interest in office other than the cost of their influence and vote... instead of letting the reins of power stay in the hands of a group of people who have so thoroughly corrupted their offices... and instead of simply handing the power of office back to yet another generation of partisan hacks of either color... How about we actually change the rules on them? How about we have our own pledges, like this one? We can rewrite the definition of the word "electable" in a manner more suited to the real, modern world that we live in, as well as the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness that our forefathers promised us. Instead of voting for "moral values," or voting for whomever you heard about at church, and instead of voting out of anger or vengeance... try participating in the system instead. Try to get real answers, try to get real results, or at least find someone who will do so for you, and put that person in office - whether they're red or blue, black or white, rich or poor, pro-this or anti-that. In other words, look for people who could take this very oath, people who would pledge their allegiance to freedom rather than to a political party, people who would swear to YOU and not just rich investors... and reward them with a vote. As insurmountable as it seems, our system is built for change. Now, instead of changing just for the sake of changing (just to end up with the same damned thing over and over again), we can start looking for real statesmen, real patriots, real people who would rather do their job and go home instead of jealously clutching to themselves the political power that they've gained. They're out there. They might need to be convinced that they're electable, because like most real folks, they've got enough secrets that they think they're forever barred from the world of politics. Just keep thinking about this pledge and about what it would take to get an entire wing of government, Congress, say, or the Executive, to not only say but believe the words. Freedom, not power, is what laid the foundation for this country. Don't sacrifice either. Quote

Iconoclast Bdox (Unregistered) 2006-11-06 19:59:36 Thanks for this site. You are doing good stuff here. Quote

re:Bdox ShadowMonkey (Unregistered) 2006-11-06 20:07:22 Thanks for taking the time to comment, we appreciate it. -sm Quote

Thanks Batsy (Unregistered) 2007-03-16 23:28:33 Thanks for all the information it really has helped me for the essay of these issues. Quote

The pledge Ali Russell (Unregistered) 2007-05-09 11:25:36 The pledge is not a favorite of mine, amen. Quote

Phillips (Unregistered) 2008-04-02 11:41:07 So I have to say that you are very passionate about this subject but don't you think this might be a little argumentative and proposterous. I think you might be a little to passionate I mean really, come on there is more to life then this stuff. good luck to your life full of I pledge no allegiance. Quote

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