Stand up for
America by sitting down for the pledge
“I Pledge 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.” These thirty one words have
been mumbled in class rooms across America for years now. The Pledge of
Allegiance has been programmed into day to day classroom activities. You come
to school and before you start your day you recite these thirty one words, then
continue with you day, but what the truth behind it is that mostly all children
do not know what the pledge means. When asked by his mother Brendan Werns said
that the pledge was a song you sing in school, being five you expect this kind
of answer, but when an eleven year old is asked the same question and answers
the same way you wonder when does the pledge become more than just words you
say before you start your day.
I have always been a big believer in standing and remaining
respectful and silent during the pledge, for 12 years I did it every morning.
Recently I read an article about how we should not stand for the pledge until
it is restored. Little did I know the pledge had been changed in 1951 to now
say “under God.” I found it interesting that this happened around this time era
of the fear of ungodly communist. At the time that “under god” was enforced “In
god we trust” was enforced into the government. So why does this raise so much
question? Well people have now started to rise up and say how the pledge is
discriminatory, and false advertisement of America.
“Liberty, and justice for all”,
I find this statement hard to believe due to the constant debate and fighting
over equal rights for women, homosexuals, etc. Claiming that there will be
liberty and justice for all who pledge to the allegiance is giving false hope,
look at the LGBT for example where is the justice in telling someone they
cannot marry or that they have to fight for the right to marry whomever they
chose.
In my opinion we should not make students stand for the
pledge. The pledge should not include
“under god” this excludes a wide variety of Americans. We should stand up for
those who don’t fit under the “pledge” by sitting down during the pledge, and
be the reason attention is brought to have the pledge restored to its original
phrase.
We do not make students stand for the pledge. If a student sits quietly and does not distract other students from participating in the activity, then they cannot be sanctioned by teachers or school administrators.
ReplyDeleteAnd by "cannot", I mean "The student and their parents can sue the school, and they will win." The ACLU has litigated numerous cases around the country. While an individual teacher or principal might not be aware of the student's rights, they will quickly be brought up to speed by the school district's legal counsel.
I agree with you. I think that it is respectful to say the pledge for Patriotic purposes but since I have never been religious, I did not enjoy growing up and feeling forced to say "Under God." I always felt judged by other students or even my teachers for not showing true enthusiasm during the pledge. If the pledge was reverted back to the original version when it ended with "One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all," I would have been more inclined to participate in the pledge.
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