A small cabal of City Councilmen in Bainbridge Island, Washington, recently tried to nix the Pledge of Allegiance from future City Council proceedings. The trouble was, they planned to put an end to the pledge away from public scrutiny by communicating via emails. City Councilman, Jim Llewellyn, who spearheaded the effort, said in one email, “Since this isn’t exactly official City business lets not get too hung up on the open meetings act with respect to this decision … just tell us how you feel,” Alas, they were caught.
Councilman Llewellyn, however, apparently underestimated the number of conservatives on Bainbridge Island, who showed up at a City Council Meeting in force. Llewellyn, who referred to Bainbridge Island as “…our little island, our little bastion of liberalism…” was forced, along with the rest of the Council, to stand up and recite the Pledge of Allegiance when an overflow crowd of island residents, including a lot of veterans, showed up in protest.
Fred Scheffler of American Legion Post 172 put it succinctly when he told the Council, “You (were elected) to do the business of Bainbridge Island, not inject your personal prejudices, not in the nether-regions of cyberspace.â€Â
Scheffler’s allusion to “personal prejudices” refers to Llewellyn’s distaste for the American flag. In one email, Llewellyn said, “If George Bush needs to wrap himself in the flag I’m sure as hell not going to pledge allegiance to THAT flag.â€Â