The Pledge: We don't need no thought control (in the classroom) Jul 05 '02    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Books Mildred D. Taylor - Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: A Literature Unit From $8 Olivier Dunrea - Ollie From $7 The Bottom Line It's not the "under God" bit that I object to... Rebel! It's the American way! How do you think we became independent in the first place? I stopped saying the Pledge of Allegiance once I realized what I had been reciting for all those years. In elementary school, the Pledge was just a part of the day, along with recess and homework. Children will repeat anything they are told to. We could have been speaking Swedish for all we knew. There is a poignant and amusing part of the book In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Betty Bao Lord that illustrates this point. The main character, Shirley, a young Chinese immigrant living in Brooklyn, New York, goes to school and repeats the Pledge of Allegiance along with her classmates. However, Shirley thinks that the words of the Pledge are "I pledge allegiance to the FROG." That is how much young children comprehend about what they are saying. Further illustration that children are easily manipulated is a Britney Spears concert. I read with horror in The Boston Metro that before Britney went on stage, the P.A. announcer at the Fleet Center led the largely pre-teen audience in chanting, "Pepsi, Pepsi" and "Samsung!" He also instructed the children, "If you want to be like Britney, and talk like Britney, buy a Samsung cell phone." Yes, these marketers certainly knew what they were doing. No one ever explained to us why we should stand up and recite an oath every morning, and if I'd ever asked my teachers for an explanation, I'm sure I would have been told, "Because I said so" or "Because you're just supposed to." So, until I was 13, I used to stand up and dutifully put my hand over my heart with all the other kids. But when I became a teenager, I started to think about what the Pledge meant and why everyone was saying it. The term "pledge of allegiance" sounded sinister to me. It was un-American in the traditional sense. If I spoke an oath of loyalty, it was a lifetime commitment. I will love and cherish the U.S. of A until death do us part? What if I wanted a divorce? That was what our Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the Constitution-- if the government does something that the citizens disagree with, the people are supposed to revolt and change things! So, I certainly wasn't going to swear that I would be loyal forever! That would traitorous to my country's ideals. Yes, I'd said the Pledge before-- hundreds of times even-- but those times didn't count as I'd been too young to know better. I was a minor and couldn't be held legally responsible for my actions. I wasn't about to renounce my citizenship at that point, but I had enough foresight to keep my options open. So, from that day on, I remained seated and silent when the principal's voice came over the P.A. system telling us to "Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance." Aside from a couple of dirty looks from teachers, no negative consequences ever resulted from my little act of rebellion. Other students started to abstain from the morning recitation, as well, and, by the time I graduated from high school, about half of my classmates were defying orders and staying in their seats. Not saying the Pledge was very important to me since I knew that if I lived in many other countries in the world, I could be jailed and tortured for refusing to swear and oath of loyalty. So, by not saying the Pledge of Allegiance, I was, in my own way, being patriotic. I felt lucky to be allowed to rebel. Needless to say, I was initially thrilled by the recent ruling that the "under God" portion of the Pledge is Unconstitutional. Of course it is! In schools that are funded by tax dollars, there should never be any such talk of God or official endorsement of a particular religion. The phrase "In God We Trust" should not be printed on our currency, either. The "we" leaves out millions of Americans who believe in gods other than the so-called Judeo-Christian God or none at all. However, my glee quickly wore off as I read about the U.S. Senate's unanimous vote to oppose the ruling. Not one Senator had the courage to stand by the court's correct decision. They all went out onto the Capitol steps and chanted the Pledge of Allegiance like robots built by the religious right. There are thousands of other more worthwhile activities that these lawmakers could have engaged in! However, I do not condemn my Senators for reciting the Pledge, just for refusing to endorse a ruling that was clearly correct. Since I believe that people should be allowed NOT to say it , I certainly don't mind if they do say the Pledge, assuming that they believe in it passionately. I believe that the Pledge is a serious statement that should not be taken lightly. Having children recite it as if it were nothing more than a song from "Barney" lessens its value. So, I believe that this ruling was actually detrimental to freedom since there now is a conservative backlash. Ideally, what should happen is that children would be introduced to the Pledge of Allegiance after they learn its history and significance and all about the Constitution, etc. However, I know this will never happen since the government will continue to make schools have students recite the Pledge every morning. Conformity is an extremely strong force to break. I was lucky to have been brought up in a fairly liberal town, but what about the rest of the country? Are other students punished for refusing to say the Pledge? I am quite certain that they would be in certain areas of the country, a fact that is painfully ironic since America is supposed to be about celebrating freedom. Many people conveniently forget that we would never have become independent had we not refused to obey authority back in the 1770s. We need to encourage tolerance, independence, creativity, and individuality everywhere. It's the American way! So, it is critical for teachers and parents to encourage students to stand up for what they believe in. Or sit down, as the case may be.

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