Dr. Gerald Horne of the University of Houston isn’t a fan of American symbols, as evidenced by his interview with Sharmini Peries for The Real News Network. Despite this distaste, he holds the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African-American Studies.

Horne blasts the flag and Pledge of Allegiance, which came about because “it was thought that this artificially-constructed former slaveholders' republic needed some kind of glue to help to bring disparate elements together.”

There’s also a tie-in to how harshly African Americans have been treated, with added emphasis:

And once again, the issue of national unity was at play, not least because a substantial percentage of the citizenry, particularly those of African descent, were subjected to routine atrocities, and it was felt that they would not necessarily be enthusiastic about shedding their blood and making the ultimate sacrifice for this so-called Republic. And so therefore you had the installation of the Pledge of Allegiance, particularly in schools, because it was thought that you had to get U.S. nationals at an early age in order to inculcate in them some sort of identification with the United States of America.



"The Star-Spangled Banner" is also problematic.

According to Horne, it speaks to “reprimanding, reproving, and denouncing black people for not standing alongside the star-spangled banner, but instead aligning, as the black population tended to do, with the real and imagined enemies of the United States of America.”

Peries did more than just agree. As she began her interview, “July 4 Independence Day celebrations are underway. It's a weekend heavily adorned by national symbols of the U.S. flag everywhere, and all kinds of other nationalistic paraphernalia. It is a good time to analyze these [altruistic] national symbols, how they evolved, should we be pledging allegiance to them.”

Another form of indoctrination is a pre-school suggesting parents dress their children in red, white, and blue for a parade.

“Now, some of the parents raised our eyebrows and resisted, and we, of course, didn't dress the kids in these colors. How do people, ordinary people, start to resist this kind of nationalistic indoctrination from the very early onset at school?” Peries said with added emphasis.

Horne not only “salute[d]” Peries, but said that “that kind of resistance needs to be duplicated and magnified from the Atlantic to the Pacific.”

Why do Americans pledge allegiance? It’s not because they love. “It's because this is a jerry-rigged republic,” Horne said, who further laments “a denial of reality” and “this happy talk.”

With this kind of talk from liberal academia like Horne, it’s no wonder the number of Americans who are “extremely proud” is at a low.