How's this for a new twist on an old dilemma? A Seattle mom is raising a kerfuffle because her daughter's school is requiring kids recite the Pledge of Allegiance. But Haley Sides doesn't care about the words "under God." She's also a veteran of the United States Air Force. And just wait until you get a load of her reasoning.
Sides doesn't want her daughter pledging "allegiance" to our country because that's not thinking "globally." Well, that's a first. An American citizen having a problem with loyalty to our country? A veteran at that?
Sides says it flies in the face of the "multiculturalism" approach she sought at the John Stanford International School. She also cites a loyalty to her late partner, a Jamaican-born naturalized citizen, who died when their daughter was just a toddler, to explain her stance. But that makes the matter that much more confusing. She is using the memory of a man who fought to become a citizen of our country to dishonor said country? Shame on her.
And shame on any American who is willing to take the benefits of living in this country without returning some respect. Even if you're unhappy with the government as a whole, ours is one of the few places on earth where we have the right to be unhappy ... and voice it. Our freedom of speech makes me pretty content to raise a child here and to pledge my allegiance to our flag.
I love our country, warts and all.
I confess I'm one of those Americans who still gets goosebumps at the playing of our national anthem, when an entire crowd stands in silence, hands over hearts. On the Fourth of July, just a few bars into Lee Greenwood's classic "God Bless the USA" and I'm a mess. And don't get me started on Kate Smith's rendition of "God Bless America." Chills, straight up my spine.
The irony, of course, is that the only trouble I have with the way we display our patriotism is how it's been intertwined with religion. These songs have been played at so many patriotic events in my life that they've become largely secularized -- at least to me. And I hardly noticed the words "under God" as a child. Now I'll cop to feeling a twinge that they don't belong in a public school. But most if not all of the "anti-pledge" folks I know would be perfectly fine with it remaining in a school building without those words (most would even be A-OK with people who are religious keeping the "under God" on their own turf).
And the fact that we're even allowed to complain about the words "under God" in our pledge in this country illustrates the very reason our kids should be pledging their oath to the United States of America. In this country, our right to dissent is protected. Even Haley Sides' right to complain about the pledge is OK; she won't end up in jail for it. Too bad she doesn't see the value in honoring that right.
Do you have a problem with your child pledging allegiance to this country?
Image via stevendepolo/Flickr
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Comments 34
I sort of understand the people who prefer "under God" to not be a part of our pledge of allegience, but we are Americans and we should be proud of all that it means and stands for. There's nothing wrong with standing up and pledging your alligience to your country.
Freedom of speech means everyone, whether you agree with some of us or not. Freedom of speech includes the right to question the pledge, and to not partake in it.
Should we be allowed to recite it? Absolutely! Should we be required to? No!! Good for this mom for standing up for her daughter's, and all of ours, right to freedom of speech.
I understand teaching your child multiculturalism, but what does that have to do with supporting your country? If the child was born in Jamaica, that is another matter entirely. But if she was born in America to an American and a Jamaican-American, that still makes the child American....
So you're allowed to enjoy freedom of speech only if you don't question the pledge? And not wanting to say the pledge automatically means that you both hate your country and don't appreciate your freedom of speech? I don't know if anyone else can see the paradox here. America lauds its freedoms but bashes anyone who actually dares to use them.
You can still support and love your country without saying the pledge or part of it. Actions speak louder than words. So far as this story is concerned, that's literally the case.
The pledge of allegiance, saying it or loving it, is not a requirement for citizenship. The great thing about being an American is freedoms like that. Being forced to pledge allegiance or it being illegal to protest it, would make us a fascist country, which I don't even believe, and I tend to believe we are a corporate republic.
Ok, once again, this touches on several points.
First, the concept of "Freedom of Speech" has been taken to mean, "I can say whatever the hell I please, and you have nothing to say about it", when, in fact, "freedom of speech" protects us from being prosecuted for saying "The King is a Fink" (or, in our case, "The Prez is a Fink"). It does not prevent students from having to recite things by rote in school, whether it is the Pledge of Allegiance or a passage from Romeo and Juliet. Further, the policy in the state of Washington is the one that the school is abiding by - the Pledge is broadcast over the PA, or led by a teacher. If a student does not wish to recite it, he may stand respectfully while the others say it. Students are not forced to say it. So really, her argument is invalid.
Second, "under God" is not forcing a religion on anybody. Simply acknowledging that there is 'something bigger than you' out there is not religion. It is acknowledging that we are NOT the center of the universe, and that we are responsible to a higher power - even if that "higher power" might, to you, refer to a global community. Or the universe. Or the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
What I don't like about schoolchildren being required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance is that many schools don't actually take the time to teach the children what it means. To many at that age, the Pledge is just empty words that they are required to memorize and recite. I think that perhaps elementary school children are too young to be pledging their allegiance to anything ... discussion of patriotic values is certainly appropriate, but I don't think that the Pledge should be required.