The Problem with the Pledge of Allegiance

Image credit: https://www.pexels.com/@brett-sayles

I last said the pledge of allegiance in elementary school.

By the time I became a reasoning human being, I refused to recite it.

Of course, instructors didn’t like my denial. A chemistry teacher sent me to the assistant principal. Other teachers called my parents. Yet nothing stated that they could force me to recite the pledge of allegiance or penalize me for not doing so.

Finally, we compromised that I would stand up during the pledge, so as not to cause class disruption. I did not have to put my hand over my heart or recite anything whatsoever.

As I’ve stated in a previous post, I’m not sure what relevance the pledge has to academics. Yet that’s not my problem with stating the pledge.

So what is the problem?

• I don’t recite rote, dictated pledges to anything.

• Training people to recite something pledging allegiance to a flag or country seems very Hitler Youth to me.

• I do not agree with everything this country does. I will not pledge my allegiance to everything the United States stands for today, has stood for in the past, or could stand for in the future.

• A United States citizen can disagree with her government. It’s a privilege I don’t take lightly. Many others do not share the same freedom.

I’m proud and fortunate to be from and living in the United States of America. I recognize so much amazingness in this country.

And the pledge has no bearing on that.

Do you have any reactions to the pledge?