Ah the worm has turned.

I just came home from a local diner in a town near me where politics is frequently discussed. The town is primarily white with I'd say about 2 in 10 residents being something other than white. Guessing by the yard signs in town during the election the presidential vote was about 50-50.

In the almost 20 years I have been going to the diner we've had lots of discussions. Sometimes they get intense but a good breakfast is shared by all and I have never seen anyone leave angry.

About three years ago there were lots of conversations going on about the war in Iraq. Several parents reported that their children had decided not to say the pledge of allegiance as a sign of their unhappiness with the conduct of the war in Iraq.

This made many of the more right leaning folks pretty angry and the word un-American was thrown around. They felt it was disrespectful of the country and those who died so that they may be free. You know the arguments.

Today there was a new twist.

Diners who were still holding onto the Obama is a Muslim thing reported that they will not say the pledge once he becomes president. Another reported he would no longer stand for the national anthem.

I was stunned and reminded them of their attitude just years before. America! Love it or leave it! There was a lot of looking at their shoes and muttering.

Funny isn't it? All of a sudden these people see civil disobedience and refusing to say the pledge much differently.

I pointed out then that I will not call them un-American because what they are doing and the freedom that they have to do it honors those that died to support that right and in fact makes them very much Americans.

hypocrites

Yes well that was evident before the words were out of their mouths.

They knew it too.

Some days the gimmes are good! Today was one of those days.

Why wouldn't they say the pledge? Doing so gives them moral backing for use of force against tyrants, Obama included.