Group Wants To Stop Kids From Saying The Pledge Of Allegiance In Schools [VIDEO]

There have been rumblings of this movement for years. I can remember a boy who Witness I'd ever known who refused to say the pledge because of religious reasons. OK, I can accept that. But this is quite another:

According to an article in the Boston Globe.com, there's a group in Brookline, Mass. who wants it stopped, saying that there's too much pressure on the students to recite it! Martin Rosenthal, the co-chair of "Brookline Pax" says:

"(The Pledge is) a loyalty oath loaded with complex issues such as justice, liberty and religion, in the phrase “under God.”....What does it say about being a citizen in a democracy?” he said. “Are you supposed to just say something like this or are you supposed to think about it?”

The Brookline School Committee chairman, Rebecca Stone says basically that that it's "one of the established and sometimes revered practices of the citizenry". In other words, people expect it. It's tradition!

All I can think about when this subject comes up is a classic routine by a classic comedian, Red Skelton. I couldn't believe it, but I found it on YouTube (where else?) This analyses each and every word of the pledge. Check this out:

And now for my two cents. I grew up in the early 60's basically. You had to have a damn good reason not to say the pledge every morning or you would incur the wrath of the teacher AND the principal! Yes, it was basically forced upon you. (And believe it or not, we were also forced to say the Lord's Prayer in the early grades whether you were Christian or not!)

Yes, they were strict. And yes, it was a case of "blind patriotism". Big deal. I really don't think that it damaged me or gave me long term psychological scarring in any way. Heck, we were chanting these words before we even knew the meaning! (Who the heck is Richard Stands anyway?)

All we hear in the news is how the U.S. is now a third rate nation. The constant repetition of this in the media has damaged our sense of national pride. We need a chant to keep our spirits up! Eliminate the Pledge? What next? No National Anthem? (Well, it probably wouldn't upset Cyndi Lauper-she didn't know it anyway!)

Maybe you could tweak the wording a little. Maybe come out with the atheist version to please that segment of society. But especially on this day, 9/11, the Pledge is the last thing I would eliminate.

How about you? What's your thought? Would love to know.

Filed Under: patriotism, pledge of allegiance, public school

Categories: Politics