Reply to pledge of allegiance in schools?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]

Anonymous wrote:
Va public schools recite it. Makes me uncomfortable, too.

Why does pledging allegiance to your nation make you uncomfortable? Part of school responsibility is to teach children how to be good citizens. What's the problem here?[/quote]

No wonder there are so many anti-America Americans these days......
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I don't know if you people are being willfully obtuse, or you aren't understanding the objection: the objection is NOT to the pledge of allegiance in general, and the patriotism behind it, and the love for this country, etc....the objection is purely to the fact that the words UNDER GOD are included in the pledge.  Not everybody in this country worships god.  The pledge is not being inclusive to all Americans.  Now THAT'S anti-American.[/quote]

Actually, I think there are two conversations happening one.

Some claim that their objection is to the inclusion of the phrase "Under God" in the pledge, which was added 60 years after the Pledge was authored.

Others seem to have an objection to the fact that the pledge is recited at all in either preschool or elementary school, or both.

I have plenty of understanding for those in the first group. I think discomfort with saying "Under God" is legitimate. I have far less understanding of the second group who would object to the recitation of the Pledge in schools, even preschool (where they are learning how to go to elementary school). This is part of the civic education of our children. There's nothing wrong with teaching them to have allegiance to their country. We're not teaching them BLIND allegiance (at least I hope not). But if you go to any government function, they all begin with the Pledge. It's where the government functions (i.e. a city council meeting) include a prayer that I begin to get very queasy. But the Pledge? No. Not in the least.

There is nothing wrong with modeling love of country for your children. Even the most liberal of Americans (like myself) know that. In many countries, the views I have wouldn't be tolerated and I'd be in a prison work camp for having them, so I very much love my country.
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I'm in the second camp. My mother is blindly patriotic. Just who that pledge is meant to touch. She still thinks our nation's doing things like putting AMERICAN citizens of Japanese ancestry in interment camps in WWII was a good thing, and has mentioned its something we should consider for Muslim AMERICANS. That's exactly the type of blind patriotism that horrifies me. Just because it's the US doing it doesn't mean it's good.  I'd much rather have a pledge to uphold the principles of the Constitution, which is a brilliant document. We only get ourselves in trouble when we go against its inherent principles.[/quote]

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