Michigan: Four City Council Members Take A Knee for Pledge of Allegiance
Because rejecting “the republic for which she stands” is the real message of the left
The latest addition to the “this protest is not about America” leftist playbook is taking a knee for the Pledge of Allegiance. Four members of the Ann Arbor city council took a knee during the saying of the pledge that opens their meetings.
Four Ann Arbor city council members chose to kneel during the Pledge of Allegiance at a meeting on Monday, Oct. 16.
Chip Smith, 5th Ward; Chuck Warpehoski, 5th Ward; Sumi Kailasapathy, 1st Ward; and Jason Frenzel, 1st Ward; moved in front of the council’s table, turned toward the flag and took a knee when it came time to recite the Pledge of Allegiance after the meeting was called to order.
Warpehoski said the move was an act of attention, concern and respect.
“I can’t speak to what is in each person’s heart, but for me to ‘take a knee’ is an act of attention, of concern, and of respect,” Warpehoski wrote on his website ahead of Monday’s meeting and also stated at the meeting. “And it is in that spirit that I take a knee at tonight’s City Council meeting: out of respect for the aspiration that we be a nation ‘with liberty and justice for all,’ with full attention that we fall short of that ideal in many ways, and with humble dedication to continue to work that the promise of the pledge may be fulfilled.”
During the meeting, Kailasapathy said she knelt during the Pledge to demonstrate her commitment to upholding democratic values.
“For me, taking a knee is also showing solidarity with the group of people who have been doing this at the national level,” she said.
Leftist apologists continue to insist that the anti-America #TakeAKnee protests are only about racial injustice (“white supremacy,” free speech, and whatever other cause they’ve concocted). Some, like Hillary Clinton, even go so far as to insist that it’s not anti-American for the protests to take this specific form.
In discussing the NFL players who take a knee during the national anthem, she said that “kneeling is a reverent position. It was to demonstrate in a peaceful way against racism and injustice in our criminal system.” She further noted it wasn’t “against our anthem or our flag.”
She can’t be serious.
It’s well understood that one stands during the playing of the national anthem to show respect. To take a knee is to intentionally do the opposite. It’s hard to see it as anything other than a sign of disrespect for the flag and the anthem, no matter what else it’s meant to signify.
Clinton didn’t stop there. She also continued to insist that President Trump’s criticism of black NFL players who kneel is a “dog whistle” to his base. It’s not enough that she makes excuses for the players, she also has to turn any criticism of their actions in [sic] a racial thing.
Hillary would have us believe that NFL players are being reverent in kneeling before our flag and anthem to protest [insert whatever latest leftist talking point]. It’s mind-boggling, and as an aside, I would bet real money that Bill advised against taking this stance.
The left has made abundantly clear that they think America is the root of all racial, economic, social, and blah blah blah problems and is even the problem itself. They’ve been dancing around this point for a century, but they are now openly demonstrating it far and wide.
The American flag is the ultimate symbol of republican values. It represents the foundation and guiding principles of our great country. Disrespecting it to further alternate democratic (?) values is a profound ideological statement with truly frightening implications.
In some ways, taking a knee during the pledge is more telling than doing so even during the national anthem. The anthem is celebratory, a way to bring together all of a nation’s disparate demographics under one uniting force. It serves a function, in other words, that is anathema to the left who thrive on identity politics and division.
Taking a knee for the pledge sees and rejects that unifying “we are all Americans” goal . . . and then ups the ante.
The Pledge of Allegiance:
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The pledge specifically states that the flag of our United States of America stands for, is a symbol of, our republic; the flag represents our nation’s foundation on Judeo-Christian values, unity, liberty, and equal justice for all.
Each of these foundational American values is repugnant to a left intent on the fundamental transformation of our nation. Their goal is a secular and deeply divided (and thus easily-controlled population that is centrally-controlled), and in which justice is meted out according to a many-faceted definition of “justice” that is essentially vengeful of perceived (and even real) historic wrongs and that is therefore decidedly unequal.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. President Trump reads the American public particularly well, and his observation that Hillary’s argument that kneeling for the anthem and flag has nothing to do with America is why she lost.
It’s not the only reason, or even a main reason, but it is not an insignificant factor. Her loss last November has somehow freed the left, they are deliberately and overtly attacking not only Trump and Republicans but the very fabric of our nation. And it’s not going unnoticed.
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Hopefully they will all lose their jobs and be voted out or shamed to quit.
Idiots all, thinking they should go live under the Saudi Regime, especially that young lady… she would be lucky to be alive, but then I don’t think she would be sitting on any “City Council “,
Part of me doesn’t want to advertise their pathetic knee taking, just encouraging more goons.
Lose their positions? Not going to happen in Ann Arbor.
either recall these traitors or admit this is part of an uncivil war.
no pledge allegiance means they are traitors to that flag.
the Norks, SJW, Sharia, FGM lovers say ‘right on’ to this.
who do these open border destroyers of Christian and Jewish Biblical values think will protect them.
when they call the cops, who will show up to protect them.
we will be back to tribalism and all its ‘wonderfulness’.
to quote Obamas pastor “g-d damn america”
https://www.google.com/search?q=Obama%27s+pastor+%22g-o-d+damn+america%22&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjt_rTR6vrWAhWIgVQKHbHjCKcQvwUIIygA&biw=896&bih=399
I still don’t agree with the act of taking a knee, but if the council members are *merely* taking a knee but are NOT ALSO donating time or money to correct said injustices in their city, state or nation, then it is merely virtue signaling and is an empty gesture.
I have a bigger problem with that.
A famous teacher once condemned people who did things publicly (praying, fasting and giving alms) just to gain status in the eyes of others
They’re likely in breach of their oath of office.
In any event, at least we know who’s who. Makes it easy at the voting booth. Wait till these pictures re-surface during election-time.
in Ann Arbor the wonder is that any of them had a hand on heart and said the pledge – doubt that the kneelers will lose, on the other hand maybe they can all decide to move to Canada in protest.
Don’t be more of an idiot than you have to be.
“I do solemnly swear (of affirm) that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of this state, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of city councillor according to the best of my ability.”
Ann Arbor is a liberal morons haven. Good for them, they look like idiots. Lets call it out. They are protesting Trump. They are disrespecting the flag and the country. They do not stand for true issues that need to be addressed. Vote them out of office.
This is Ann Arbor. They will not be recalled. They will be celebrated.
We need to just ignore them. They are seeking attention.
Never let a Leftist behavioral crisis go to waste.
I agree with you and your comment is the right thing to do. Don’t give the light of day. This will result in the good people of Michigan only supporting Trump more.
Getting that ol’ “X in the block” for the next campaign.
What a transparently infantile exercise in sanctimony and self-aggrandizement. Total virtue-signaling theatrics and posturing. Nauseating.
Duly noted.
Most of the protests are not so much trying to “draw attention” to the problem as it is centered around drawing attention to the protester.
Look at me! I’m down with (fill in the blank) and I really CARE about (fill in the blank), even though I am personally doing exactly zero-zilch-nada-zip-nothing to solve the problem.
I’m important because doing this makes me FEEL important (instead of my usual impotent).
Most mature people outgrow the Terrible Twos Temper Tantrum phase, but then again I’ve already addressed the root cause.
Being on one knee makes it easier for someone to kick them in the ass.
When the Muslims take over, they’ll be thrown off the top of the building….
Nah… They are already showing a willingness to “submit”. That may not be enough to save them in the end… but for now it is a start.
Nah, they’ll be thrown off the building.
They are probably saving their pennies so they will be able to afford to pay Jizya.
So, other than the citizens of Ann Arbor, who really gives a rat’s patoot about the behavior of local politicians? I fully agree with the kneelers when they say this was a bid for “attention”. As for calling attention to some kind of racial injustice it certainly does in Ann Arbor, MI. Not a single one of these people are BLACK, even though 7% of the population of Ann Arbor is black. I mean really? One of the White commission members who chose to kneel should show solidarity are resign his seat immediately for a black councilperson.
Resign his seat??
You fonny gai…
Diversity, including racism, is a progressive faux pas that liberals should not be permitted to live down.
That said, the optics of throwing millions of Americans under the bus, men and women who sacrificed their treasure and blood, to end the practice of involuntary exploitation, redistributive change, and diversity (e.g. racism, sexism), places the left firmly at the twilight fringe (along with abortionists, clinical cannibals, and other faithful).
The Fickle Four. While others around the world are forced to their knees, these yo-yo’s take a knee, in part, for lies and distortions.
Vichy Americans…
All right, give it a rest already.
Lumping the flag, the anthem, and the Pledge together is just dumb. Shoot, why not work in a Secret Handshake, too. The Pledge is a bit of cheap idolatry composed in the 1890s by a socialist. And not even a socialist would put in that “under God” stuff; that was shoehorned in there later, as a deliberate insult to the First Amendment. It manages to cheapen both religion and politics—so to whoever did that … nice going, hammerhead.
The flag and the anthem together are a different matter entirely. For those, I say get on your damn feet or buy a ticket to someplace else.
The pledge is idolatry, because it’s directed to the flag as well as to the republic. It follows that saluting the flag directly is also idolatry. The problem is the same — treating the map as if it were the territory. It’s the same idea underlying sympathetic magic: make the doll stand for the person, and then treat it as if it were the person. It’s also why most Protestants, who believe the Host is merely a symbol representing God, refuse to worship it, while Catholics, believing it to actually be God, do.
However, be that as it may, these councilors who refuse to recite the pledge are not doing so because they distinguish between the flag and the republic. On the contrary, they accept that association, and that is precisely why they kneel; they refuse to pledge their allegiance, not to the flag, but to the republic. They’ve got no problem with the flag; it’s the republic they reject.
This is a bit persnickety, but idolatry doesn’t mean worshiping an idol that represents something greater (if it did, we couldn’t, as Christians, have crucifixes or display the fish symbol). It means actually worshiping that thing as if it were in and of itself worthy of worship.
In this, the pledge pushes linguistic boundaries, but I don’t think many people actually think the flag itself is, that its thread and dye parts are, worthy of adulation. Instead, the pledge is about the republic for which it (the flag) stands.
One pledges allegiance to the flag as it stands for the republic; if it stood for ISIS, another country, or kittens, no American would pledge allegiance because the republic is the worthy element of the pledge, not the flag.
You get this right in your final sentence.
Idolatry consists of treating a symbol as if it were the thing it represents. Confusing the map with the territory. Most Christians, to the best of my knowledge, don’t worship crucifixes or fish symbols; they merely use them to represent the god(s) they do worship. Catholics do worship the consecrated host, believing it to actually be their Creator. To non-Catholics it seems like Isaiah’s classic lampoon of the idolater in 44:16-17 could have been written with this very practice in mind. Of course Catholics don’t see it that way, precisely because they insist, and sincerely believe, that the thing they’re worshiping isn’t a symbol.
Just as the word “cat” is not a cat, a country’s flag is not the country. And yet the way most USAns treat their flag seems like they don’t get that. I think Bellamy chose his words well and carefully, because he intended to brainwash people into Prussian-style obedience and worship of the state.
People speak of soldiers fighting and dying for the flag. I sincerely hope no soldier has ever been so stupid as to die for a flag. Francis Scott Key had it right. The sight of the flag in the morning, still flying over Fort McHenry, filled him with joy not because it was unharmed, but because its presence meant the fort still stood. He cared about the fort, not the flag; the flag was merely an indicator of what was happening. And in the final verse he wrote why soldiers fight and die — to protect their loved homes from wild war’s desolation. The flag’s presence or absence merely informs us how successful they’ve been.
I just thought of a better analogy — think of the way hoplophobes freak out at pictures of guns, pop tarts nibbled into the shape of
gunsmountains, finger-guns, imaginary hand-grenades, and even kids named Hunter.I like it when people tell you right up front that they are assholes. It’s always best to know, then you can make adjustments as needed.
Well, just as with NFL. I will choose to not do any business with them or any products they produce!
Four closeted racists virtue signaling to compensate.
It’s like that local evengelical at your church is always lecturing everyone about their sins. Years later he gets busted for skimming off the orphan fund and banging the preacher’s wife.
And yet he still has his right hand over his heart. What a confused, sad sap.
He’s trying to cover all the bases…
(I’m kneeling…hand on heart…so…vote for me)
I wonder why these privileged people aren’t giving up their jobs and homes to the disadvantaged. Live up to your values jerks!
A2 is about 12 miles south of me, I rarely go there because it’s totally stupid.
This is like men wearing bell-bottomed trousers in the ’60’s. It seemed really cool while you are doing it but when you look back at old photos you’re really embarrassed! I know a$$holes like these four probably don’t embarrass easily but someday they will be ashamed.
Remember the fifteen minutes that Nehru jackets were popular??
Nothing but flaming idiots. Shameful conduct for elected officials!
Where in gods name do they come from?
Oh say can you virtue signal…