Hey, Obama White House, Try Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance

I started elementary school at the tail end of the prayer in school era, but we did recite the Pledge of Allegiance at most of the elementary schools I attended. (We moved a lot. I probably averaged a new school almost every year.) I can still remember springing to my feet at the start of the school day, hand over heart, eyes on the American flag in the corner of the room. One teacher carefully explained the meaning of each word to give the daily recitation meaning, which I appreciated then and still appreciate now.

When I woke up this morning, still lying in bed, the Pledge of Allegiance was running through my mind for the first time in years. It had been so long, in fact, that I stumbled over the words -- was it one nation under government? No, of course not. But I actually wondered for one Orwellian second.

And because I was thinking about government, I wondered if the people who work in the White House start the day reciting the Pledge? Probably not, but maybe they should. I assume all of them have taken the Civil Service pledge, which I have also taken a couple of times. And of course President Obama was sworn in by Chief Justice Roberts - everyone witnessed that.

But as time passes it's easy to forget the words and the meaning of the words. The Pledge of Allegiance could serve as a good mission statement reminder to our leaders in Washington:

I pledge my 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.

P.S. A lady I met a few years ago pointed out to a group of teenagers I was with that there is no comma after "one nation" - it is meant to be one phrase: "one nation under God," spoken without pausing.

P.P.S. Yes, I know, I know. "Under God" was added 12 years after the pledge was written. The words were taken from the last line of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, which is worthy of a post of its own.

P.P.P.S. Ironically, the original Pledge of Allegiance was written by a socialist. I wonder how many socialists would take the pledge today?

Movie Review: "Moneyball"

We went to a matinee this afternoon to see "Moneyball," starring Brad Pitt, who also produced the film. It was excellent! I can't say enough about it, really. Go see it, if you can. Rent it on DVD when it comes out. It is well worth your time.

Moneyball tells the true story of the 2002 Oakland A's and how they re-engineered their approach to fielding a team because they could not afford the Yankees' business model of paying top dollar to great players. The general manager, Billy Beane, played by Pitt, teams up with a Yale economics graduate/baseball fan to select players based on a complicated computer analysis. The team's scouts and manager vehemently oppose the idea, and the players don't take it very seriously either, until Beane shakes things up. Suddenly they are winning -- in fact, they start breaking records for wins. It's very exciting.

But the movie isn't strictly about baseball. It also addresses Beane's relationship with his 12-year-old daughter, whom he quietly adores. Baseball is used as a metaphor for what happens when a person believes in himself, or fears failure. It's a great, great movie.

[In the interest of full disclosure, I must confess that I was once a baseball junkie. For three years of my life (ages 13-16), 3rd baseman Hall of Famer George Brett and the Kansas City Royals were my drug of choice. I went to as many games, grand openings, and ribbon cuttings as I could and baked cookies for George at Christmastime. I subscribed to the Sporting News and Sports Illustrated and carefully clipped every picture and article from the Kansas City Star to paste in my scrapbook. George Brett posters adorned the walls and ceiling of my bedroom. I even followed the team on a road trip to Chicago, staying in the same hotel. Yes, I was a groupie.

Little did I realize that despite our seemingly insurmountable age difference of 11 years, George would eventually marry a girl three years younger than me. Alas, I was too old for him!]

Book Review: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

What a beautiful, beautiful book! I loved the movie version, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, many years ago when my boys were small. I remember seeing it twice in movie theaters -- once in Utah and once in Minneapolis while visiting my best friend. We drove to the movie theater on a January evening in sub-zero temperatures to see it. I don't think she loved it as much as I did.

But that's because (as you know from previous posts) I am one of the few people on the planet who is more entertained watching grass grow than watching action flicks. I can't explain it! But I guess I don't need to apologize for it, either. That's just who I am.

About ten years ago, my aunt recommended the book version of it to me, and I finally got around to reading it six months ago. I finished it tonight. (I can't explain that, either. I am a very, very slow reader. My daughter, Abby, says I don't read - I analyze.)

The book is about an English butler and a head housekeeper at an estate in England just before the onset of World War II. They are consummate professionals and very, very English, rarely betraying their personal feelings about anything. The author is a master of nuance. I found myself marveling that someone named Kazuo Ishiguro could write so convincingly about being an English butler.

Mr. Stevens, the butler, reflects on his long career and his indefinite future while traveling to meet Mrs. Benn, the former Miss Kent, who was once his employee. He hopes to convince her to rejoin the household now that her long marriage has come to an end. I won't tell you what happens.

But reading the book at this point in my life, when I am more than half-way done with my 'magnus opum' (raising a family), I was profoundly touched by Mr. Stevens' situation. He has given his all to Darlington Hall, contenting himself with 'the remains of the day' and the resultant accumulation of dignity.

Here are some passages I especially enjoyed from the book:

'One is not struck by the truth until prompted quite accidentally by some external event.'

'I distinctly felt that rare, yet unmistakeable feeling - the feeling that one is in the presence of greatness.'

'Dignity is something one can meaningfully strive for throughout one's career. Those 'great' butlers like Mr. Marshall who have it, I am sure, acquired it over many years of self-training and the careful absorbing of experience.'

'The great butlers are great by virtue of their ability to inhabit their professional role and inhabit it to the utmost; they will not be shaken out by external events, however surprising, alarming, or vexing. They wear their professionalism as a decent gentleman will wear his suit.'

'It was one of those events, which, at a crucial stage in one's development, arrive to challenge and stretch one to the limit of one's ability and beyond, so that thereafter one has new standards by which to judge oneself.'

'It was a though one had available a never ending number of days, months, years in which to sort out the vagaries of one's relationship with Miss Kenton; an infinite number of further opportunities in which to remedy the effect of this or that misunderstanding. There was surely nothing to indicate at the time that such evidently small incidents would render whole dreams forever irredeemable. But I see I am becoming unduly introspective....'