Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
I saw in the news this morning an article about a town in Vermont where they are debating whether or not the Pledge of Allegiance should be said in schools. Apparently this was previously discussed there and it was decided that, so as not to offend anyone, the Pledge wouldn't be
mandatory for students. Apparently some of the students didn't want to say the Pledge for religious reasons.
Now the only two words in the entire Pledge of Allegiance that have anything to do with religion are "under God". Recognizing that, I have to believe that the students who object to saying the Pledge for religious reasons simply object to saying "under God". If that's the case then it seems to me that a couple of solutions offer themselves:
1) We could allow the students to say the Pledge of Allegiance and let them omit "under God".
2) We could allow the students to say the Pledge of Allegiance substituting the name of their deity for "God", i.e. "under Allah", "under Yaweh", etc.
3) We could say the Pledge of Allegiance as it was before Congress inserted the words "under God" by simply removing them and making it completely non-religious.
With at least those three options available I find it curious and bothersome that school systems, without considering other options, would rather simply NOT have the students say the Pledge of Allegiance. I mean, we are talking about public schools supported by American tax dollars, right?
I'm thinking that your average elementary school student doesn't just wake up one day and decide that (s)he won't say the Pledge of Allegiance anymore. I'm thinking that such a thought has to be planted by a parent, older sibling or other relative. I'm also thinking that if a family is placing such thoughts in their child's head then they obviously don't support America much, if at all, and perhaps they shouldn't be Americans?
Maybe I'm a bit narrow-minded (and there's no doubt I can be) but this is the United States of America. It is the land of the free and the home of the brave. It's the "melting pot" of cultures... but it's
America. If you can't say a simple pledge of allegiance to your country of residence - whether it's by birth or by choice - then what the heck are you still here for? The beautiful part about it is that you're free to leave!
Yes, you're free to stay. You're free to take advantage of every opportunity offered by our system. You're free to stay and enjoy the educational benefits. As parents you're free to tell your children NOT to say the Pledge of Allegiance because of two words you disagree with. If those two words were removed or replaced would you still tell your children not to say it?
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands
one nation, under (pick your deity), indivisible
with liberty and justice for all.
