Loyalty days

[bunsen_h]

"Lake Wobegon Loyalty Days" is the name of our show tonight.

It's named after the old name they used to have in Lake Wobegon for the 4th of July.

Back during the first World War they called it "Loyalty Days." And they made all of the people of German extraction stand up in the middle of the town, where everybody could see 'em. Made 'em all stand up and say the Pledge of Allegiance and salute the flag, and everybody watched to make sure they weren't crossing their fingers, I guess.

Well, everybody goes through that sort of foolishness once in a while. Our country does more often than most, but here we are. We are who we are.

— Garrison Keillor

Now it's the women of Moslem extraction, and we're supposed to watch 'em to make sure they're not just mouthing the words, I guess.

I'd hoped we were past that sort of "foolishness".  To use a much-too-weak word.
 

Comments

[dewline.livejournal.com]

A lot of us are. And we're having to remonstrate a bit with those who wish we wouldn't move past such foolishness.

[resonant.livejournal.com]

I just had to defriend someone who kept spouting such foolishness.

At least my family and co-workers have learned to keep any bigotry to themselves when I am around.

[bunsen-h.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall that last year, the alleged justification for not letting women wear the niqab during the citizenship ceremony was that we needed to be sure they were actually reciting the oath of allegiance. More recently -- after it was pointed out that we weren't actually checking if anyone wasn't just mouthing the words, or such -- the alleged justification is that we must oppose the female oppression implicit in their wearing the garment. Meantime, the Harperites don't seem to be concerned about the female oppression implicit in the disappearance and murder of aboriginal women. Yet the niqab-wearers don't seem to think they're being oppressed, and don't need or want our "help" in that respect, while the aboriginal women really would like some help, please...