Should the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance be abolished?

[© tweed]

Mandating kids to "pledge their allegiance" to the country daily at school is nothing but mindless propaganda.

1943 SCOTUS decision West Virginia Board of Education vs Barnette decided that students cannot be forced to acknowledge the flag/recite the pledge in public schools.  however this does not mean that significant pressure cannot be applied to the student, as was the case with me in my 11th grade math class, in which my teacher observed me on the first day sitting quietly during the recitation of the pledge.  she called me to her desk and told me that she "knew people who died Over There" and that I must stand.  I informed her of the SCOTUS decision, but she didn't budge.  I then took to reciting the Stalin-era version of the Soviet National Anthem during the pledge.

the next week an anonymous teacher referred me to the school psychologist.  I'll never know exactly which teacher it was, but I have a sneaking suspicion is was the math teacher.

[© tweed]

Is this really something you'd do every morning in an American High School?

we had it every day of every year starting with Kindergarten.  "give us the child for eight years and he will be a Bolshevik forever" - Lenin.  they heeded his advice.


and clarence, one easy answer here is that we are in a position to influence the US government, and insofar as we are in a position to influence it we are responsible for what it ultimately does (what crimes it ultimately commits, if we are to be more dramatic).  meanwhile I can't do much of anything to direct what North Korea or the Somalian Islamic militia or whatever other official enemies are going to do.