I believe that the Pledge of Allegiance should be taught to American schoolchildren but should not be used as part of the rote routine that starts every day in school. I would argue that it should be reserved for solemn occasions.
Why? Because in my opinion it trivializes and vitiates the Pledge to recite it every day. I still recall (across vast expanses of time) how as a schoolchild I would gabble through the Pledge, mouthing the words without stopping to think about the meaning of what I was reciting. Perhaps my peers were more attentive to the weight of the words; I doubt it.
Leaving aside the debate over “under God,”[sup]1[/sup] I would argue that reserving the recitation of the Pledge to ceremonial uses would be more likely to lead those who recite it to reflect upon its meaning.
[sup]1[/sup]I’d take it out, if you’re wondering.
I agree. In my experience as a classroom teacher, the daily recital of the pledge leads to disrespective behavior. So I didn’t have the pledge, except on days that were special. An example would be the day before Martin Luther King Day.
As a person who thinks that the pledge has special meaning, I feel that we should only use it for those times that evoke special feelings and thoughts.
I’ll grant you that this is a novel argument, but I don’t see why the pledge is that important. I think the schools should probably let it go because it doesn’t mean anything to the students. Actually, I’m not big on ritual pledging just as a matter of course.
It seems to me that the Pledge ought to mean something to the students, that they should be taught the ideals behind the words (with due examination of the fact that this country is a work in progress and that it does not always live up to those ideals). Combine that education with reservation of the Pledge to specific occasions, not trot it out as a matter of course. Then the Pledge would have some significance in students’ lives.
And then it would be worthwhile to fight over “under God.”
The concepts should. The words and the public statement are what I can do without.
Perhaps you’ll with me when I say this: the way the pledge is taught is not compatible with students getting any meeting out of it. You can’t just tell the kindergarteners ‘we say this every day,’ explain what the big words mean (or even what all of the words mean), and then expect them to find it meaningful. It can’t be anything but a rote exercise when done that way.
Precisely! Which is why it shouldn’t be a rote daily recitation! I wouldn’t cram it into kindergartners in any case; I’d wait till the kids were old enough to grasp the basics of the underlying concepts, and teach to the children’s level. Expand upon the meaning at some point each year, with the complexity of the teaching advancing as the students’ abilities advance. Tie the Pledge into, say, the history curriculum, teach its words just enough to assure that students know them by heart – then drop it. Have the Pledge be spoken only, as sunstone proposed, “for those times that evoke special feelings and thoughts.”
Right. I agree with all of that if you’re going to have them say it in the first place; I just don’t see the need to have them say it in that first place. As I say, it’s not my thing.
I recited it every day while in grade school and it didn’t hurt me. At the grade school my grandchildren attend, the pledge is optional. I have heard the same argument about the national anthem prior to sporting events. I am saddened to see the loss of national pride and the fact that folks are losing sight that being a citizen of this country comes with some responsibilities. What is wrong with taking 15 seconds out of our day to reinforce the love we have for our county and show it a little respect? Some folks wonder why the rest of the world looks at Americans the way they do. It is those that don’t wonder is the reason we are on this slippery slope where being an American citizen is not something to be proud of. The last time my wife and I went to Canada she was spit at by a visitor from Germany just because she said she was an American. I guess if I can stay in my home armed to the teeth and tell the rest of the world “Fuck you”, why should I worry?
I agree with the OP, and with the taking out part. However, I would also take out the second “to”. That way, it would read: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America , and the Republic for which it stands, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. That way, it would be a lot less glurgy. Less gramatically correct, but it puts less emphasis on the gov.
Ah, hell, let’s just use the original flavor.
or maybe one of the earlier drafts that used language like equality and brotherhood.
In what way am I reinforcing my love for the country or showing it respect by reciting the pledge? Or more importantly - since I’m not in a school - how does making kids say these words, which they do only because they have to or have been taught to, make them more proud of show any respect?
Because that 15 seconds doesn’t show respect. As a daily recitation, it becomes a tedious formula to be zipped through before the real events of the day unfold. As well use your grandmother’s wedding goblets for your breakfast orange juice.
Yeah I don’t think it should be recited every day in school for various reasons.
The Pledge really isn’t some important piece of America, it was just basically contrived one day by the legislature. Unlike the national anthem the pledge wasn’t written in the heat of a battle being fought to defend the continental United States.
The United States was not founded to be the kind of place you are required to pledge allegiance to every day until you’re 18.
I am confused by your joined statement that links “national pride” (apparently in the context of sporting events) and a lack of recognition of responsibilities. I have no idea why singing a song at a sporting event or reciting a rote loyalty pledge in a classroom is supposed to represent pride in one’s country. They both seem pretty meaningless to me.
Responsibilities? Let’s get the kids to write a letter to their congresscritters each month; let’s publicly abuse people who do not show up to vote, and publish the names of tax cheats.
The kind of “rah, rah” sports team patriotism that I often see proposed (not that you have) is the sort of thing that encourages nations to go off on adventurist tracks chanting “We’re number 1!” instead of considering rational and appropriate responses to world situations.
And, perhaps, if this country was not out treating world affairs as a sporting events, it would not encourage the sort of crude reactions from people who think of nations in the same simplistic manner. Perhaps if this country was willing to work with other countries instead of holding up the false bravado of sports teams, you would not have to hold an image of being forted up in your own home.
At any event, I do vote, write my congresscritters, pay my taxes, express myself in public fora, and otherwise engage in the good duties of citizenship and I have never been moved by either our loyalty pledge (unique among democracies, as far as I know), or the singing of that old tavern song that requires too much alcohol to attempt to hit the high note.
I’m all for classroom recitation – but not so much the Pledge of Allegiance. It has always seemed a tawdry thing, our own little loyalty oath, banal enough even before it was further tarnished (years after it was written) by shoehorning the words “under God” into it (a move more political than pious – it was a thumb in the eye of all those “Godless Communists” out there).
There are countless items out there for recitation, from the Declaration of Independence (I had a teacher who used to play a recording of the Fifth Dimension singing the first four paragraphs until we could all sing along) and the Constitution, to great speeches, legislation, court decisions, literature, and song, all of which wouldn’t hurt in the edification of our schoolchildren and might be a lot more effective in spurring interest and pride in the long experiment to see if people are smart and honest enough to run their own nation.
I think daily activities of citizenship are important, but I think they can take other forms.
Flag raising ceremonies, a daily changing patriotic song, or a reading of an important document can be used instead. When I was growing up, these things were used in addition to the Pledge. I think they could be substituted for the Pledge for younger children.
I think the Pledge is valuable for older children, but I think this is for individual school districts, ultimately, to decide. And of course, all of us have the freedom not to participate in these exercises, which is right and proper.