“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,” students recite.
Every morning in schools all over the United States of America, students are asked to pause or stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. It is a morning ritual most students memorize by the end of kindergarten.
However, as students advance in grade level, though the opportunity is there every morning, many students have stopped saying, or even standing for, the Pledge of Allegiance.
Stat Crunch reports that 40% of people stop saying the pledge in elementary school.
This is problematic. Often, students do not understand the real meaning of the pledge, or they are just too lazy to even stand up for it. They do not realize how important the Pledge of Allegiance is.
Perhaps the original reasoning for not standing for, or saying the pledge is one phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance. According to Stat Crunch, 59% of American students found the line “one nation under God” the most controversial of all the lines in the pledge.
However, George Washington stated, “I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have you…in his holy protection,…and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all, to do Justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility and pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristicks of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation.”
Though some students do not believe in God, it is still true that George Washington, as well as other founding fathers of America, believed that it was God who allowed them to obtain freedom from Great Britain. This further knowledge of what the founding fathers believed helps us understand why “one nation under God” was a line put in the pledge.
Additionally, the Continental Congress opened their first meeting with a prayer, “Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed.”
The fact that even the Continental Congress said a prayer to open their meeting, explains that America was, in the beginning, a very God-focused country and therefore has God in their pledge.
Some may argue that we have religious freedom and therefore should be allowed to choose if we say the pledge or not. The First Amendment to the Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
There are many different religions in America, and each one should be respected. If certain phrases of the Pledge of Allegiance are controversial, or go directly against one’s religion, students do not need to say or stand for the pledge.
However, as of 2022, 81% of Americans said they believe in God. I think that the real reason many students do not stand for the pledge is because they are lazy and do not want to make the effort every morning to get out of their chairs, or they are afraid of feeling embarrassed for standing when not many students, or even teachers, are.
Standing for the Pledge of Allegiance is a way to show respect to the country that gives us so much. It is one way to show appreciation to the people who sacrificed for the freedom we enjoy every single day.
Other countries do not allow religious freedom or freedom of speech. I lived in China during elementary school, and I was not allowed to share anything about my religion with other people. Any news that was not from the Chinese government was also immediately shut off of news channels. There were 24 surveillance cameras between my front door and my bus stop. The government tracked everyone’s phones and even listened to what was taught at church.
While I was there, I realized how grateful I was for the rights and privileges I enjoyed in America. Now, when I stand for the pledge, I remember what it was like in China and how important freedom is to me.
If students truly see the meaning of the pledge, they should not only understand the reasons for saying it, but it should become something they want to say to show respect.
If you truly care about our country and it doesn’t go directly against your religion, why shouldn’t you stand for the pledge? Don’t be afraid to be the one who cares enough about America to simply stand up when no one else is standing. America deserves it.
