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.
That's public school for you. Obey or your life will be hell.
Sad that we live in a society where justice is only something that exists in the public sphere, and where freedom and democracy are only relevant to the ballot box. We think it's horrible when governments behave arbitrarily, unjustly, and without consent, yet it is seen as perfectly fine, once someone goes to school, goes home, or goes to work.
Poll
