PLEDGE: It doesn’t ask you to pick a side

Define Irony:

Leading with the Pledge of Allegiance at Congressman Fulcher’s fundraiser.

The aforementioned is not inherently ironic; however, when one combines what was reported, factoring out the all-mighty dollar, and the actual words of our highly revered Pledge of Allegiance, you might discern the dichotomy.

The Press headline: ‘Normal or crazy’, notwithstanding its own intrinsic irony, was followed by reporting that Russ Fulcher and Jim Jordan encouraged people to line up on the right side, because the divide in America is great, and that Fulcher said, “…we’re going through another Civil War of sorts.” This reckless language was furthered by Jim Jordan quoting Sarah Huckabee Sanders: “The dividing line in America is no longer between right and left — it’s between normal or crazy.”

I don’t recall any words in the Pledge of Allegiance that encourage “picking a side,” but I am familiar with the words; “united,” “one nation under God,” “indivisible,” “liberty” and “justice for all.” Should this not be the core paradigm behind every elected official’s moral compass in the furtherance of Democracy, rather than the orchestration of these events as if they are some sort of tailgate party where the preemptive winner is the politician over Democracy?

The unequivocal ‘crazy’ is that we have yet to institute term limits for all elected officials, nor have we figured out a way to drastically limit the money factor in the election process. 

Ironically, we were able to identify the utility of the wheel around 3500 B.C.E., or BC, whichever you happen to identify with. Perhaps we will be able to identify the utility of term limits in the 21st century.

BRAD BANTA

Coeur d’Alene