"I pledge allegiance to 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."
This pledge was created by Francis Bellemy, a school teacher, in 1892 for children to recite in observance for the 400th anniversary of Columbus's landing. Only his version didn't include under God. Bellemy was well connected, so soon his pledge was being recited in many schools after that. The under God part was added in 1954 by Congress after a protest from the Knights of Columbus. The pledge of allegiance is an oath.
I believe that we should leave the pledge in public schools and remain the same as it always was with the words under God. It shows true patriotism to recite this pledge.
Teaching at the public high school for the past few years has given me great insight into The Pledge of Allegiance. I concur that the addition of the words "under God" by Congress in 1954 were brilliant. The problem is that I do not believe public schools are the appropriate place to recite the pledge. I have seen, in my short time as an educator, a severe disrespect for the flag, oftentimes inspite of words from teachers to encourage understanding and respect. I think that perhaps the pledge has been drilled so much into our student's heads that they no longer have the reverence they should for flag and country. The pledge is nothing more now than the rote memorization of empty words. If the pledge is going to continue to be recited at the public school level, the nation must return to a love of patriotism and sacrifice and duty.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the pledge should be recited in schools out of respect and patriotism, but I don't believe it should be forced because many people come from different cultures and have different beliefs. In elementary school some kids aren't on the level of discipline and understanding to comprehend why they must stand and focus on the flag to recite The Pledge of Allegiance everyday of school. Not only age is an issue, The Pledge of Allegiance does refer to God and some people do not believe in a God. Religion is a very big issue to many people. If i didn't believe in God i would not want to recite something against my beliefs. I've seen instances where teachers have threatened to send a kid to the office for not standing and reciting The Pledge of Allegiance. I do not believe The Pledge should be forced upon students but parents should teach respect early on.
ReplyDeleteIt has always been an issue to separate school and government from church, but the government itself has failed in many ways to accomplish this. America has been referred to as the "melting pot" because of all the cultures and all the people around the world who migrate to this country and contribute making the U.S. the great country it has been, myself included. I think that in some aspects it is not right to include the "under God" part, because knowing that the U.S. is now made up of all these different cultures, we should know that different religions come along with them as well. Many of them don't believe in the same God, and we should also respect that. Just like you ask for people to stop and think about this for a minute, have you stopped and considered all this before?
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