Reading the thread about Barack Obama and how he relates to the flag got me thinking and so I decided to post a new thread.
It seems to me that there are far to many people who confuse the Nation with the government.
The word "nation" means "a large body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to possess a government peculiarly its own: The president spoke to the nation about the new tax."
Our nation happens to be organized as a constitutional republic.
The government is simply a (relatively) small group of individual who are chosen to oversee the operations of, and REPRESENT, the Nation
"Nation" is not synonymous with "government". Neither is "republic" which is a form of government, not the government itself. The term "republic" would be more closely associated with the nation which has taken that form of government rather than with the small group of people chosen to represent that "nation".
In fact, in a republic, all power is supposed to reside with the people..not the government. That is simply more proof that pledging allegiance to the flag which represents our republic means pledging allegiance to the PEOPLE of the nation..not to the government of that nation, which may or may not accurately represent and govern the republic.
It seems to me that there are far to many people who confuse the Nation with the government.
The word "nation" means "a large body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to possess a government peculiarly its own: The president spoke to the nation about the new tax."
Our nation happens to be organized as a constitutional republic.
The government is simply a (relatively) small group of individual who are chosen to oversee the operations of, and REPRESENT, the Nation
"Nation" is not synonymous with "government". Neither is "republic" which is a form of government, not the government itself. The term "republic" would be more closely associated with the nation which has taken that form of government rather than with the small group of people chosen to represent that "nation".
In fact, in a republic, all power is supposed to reside with the people..not the government. That is simply more proof that pledging allegiance to the flag which represents our republic means pledging allegiance to the PEOPLE of the nation..not to the government of that nation, which may or may not accurately represent and govern the republic.