Pledge of allegiance...

[mad_andy]

So some bright spark thought that when we leave school we should come up with some sort of pledge of allegiance to improve our sense of duty.

...what?

This is something colonials do.

However. Being British, we're not taking such tomfoolery too seriously, and the BBC has posted some of the best suggestions for pledges on their news site:

Go, read, laugh!

My favourite?

'I swear to form a queue, to solve problems with a hot, brown drink, and to question authority. I will joke with strangers, and welcome newcomers. The past is to be respected, and the pompous are not to be tolerated. Britain is a crowded place, so I will not wave my arms about too much. In the name of the pillar box, and the weather, and the jam roly-poly. Hurrah!
Mike, Rochester, Kent'

Hurrah!

The original news story.

Comments

[stonefinder.livejournal.com]

Oh Lord, I grew up with this shit, and let me tell you, encourage a sense of citizenship? Bullshit. The words had no meaning. It's was just a stupid thing we had to do in the mornings by rote. They don't do it anymore, as far as I know -- kind of petered out when I was in school. What is the bright spark on?

[bella-cheval.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. The Pledge is still done in the schools in my area and Bhudda forbid you don't say it.

[navigatorsghost.livejournal.com]

Now, y'see, I'm all about the solemn oaths and the big words and the pledges and stuff - but only if people have a choice about doing it. Pledges of allegiance don't produce a sense of citizenship - it's pride and love for your country that make people want a pledge in the first place. You can't just impose something like this, like a band-aid over a gangrenous wound.

Besides, all the coolest stuff about England is older than people remember. If I'm going to pledge allegiance to England I demand that King Arthur, the Wild Hunt, the White Goddess and possibly Sir Francis Drake get mentioned in there somewhere. *nods*

But I'm glad people are snarking Britishly at it. Makes me think we maybe have more sense of nationality than people think after all. ;)