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PrintCOLUMBIA – A bill that would require that the Pledge of Allegiance be recited at the beginning of every Columbia City Council meeting and work session is on the council's Monday night agenda.
The bill is the suggestion of Fourth Ward Councilman Daryl Dudley, who said at a previous meeting that the council should "respect the veterans that we've got and the country that we're in."
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There was some immediate opposition to the proposal. First Ward Councilman Paul Sturtz said that he felt it disagreed with the Bill of Rights to have the government require the Pledge of Allegiance.
The bill appears under old business on the agenda for the meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. in the council's chambers at the Daniel Boone City Building.
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This is the kind of bill that a politician introduces when he can't address issues of substance.
The council members' service alone demonstrates devotion to our system of self-government far better than a mandatory recitation could. The city council has city business to address, as the rest of the council well knows. Treating the city council like grade school children, who need a focusing activity to begin the day, demeans them and the citizens, and wastes taxpayer time.
If the council wants to demonstrate patriotism, it will reject this juvenile flag-waving.
While I don't have anything against the council saying the pledge, bringing it up sounds like pandering to me.
Watch, the conservative anti government types will want to mandate people to pledge allegiance to the same state they despise. What a waste of council time.