PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: TO SAY OR NOT TO SAY?

"“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.
You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods." (from Exodus 20:4-5 New Living Translation)

The front page story of today's (Thursday, September 8, 2011) story in the Boston Herald is about a movement to end the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag in the public schools of Brookline, Massachusetts.

According to the article in the Boston Herald: "Brookline Political Action for Peace — also known as Brookline PAX — will push Town Meeting voters in November to urge the School Committee to end the requirement that principals allow a weekly recitation of the Pledge during morning announcements."

Today, this story has been fodder for the radio talk shows of Boston. In all of the arguing and rhetoric, there's just plain a lot of information about the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag that is not known. In this piece, I want to attempt to "put that out there". I hope this will help and will not "muddy the waters."

It's ironic that today most of the strongest advocates for saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag are on the political right, and even on the far right. Typically those on the left either yawn over the Pledge of Allegiance or just plain wish it would go away. It may surprise you that the author of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag (in 1892) was a person on the political FAR LEFT! It was SOCIALIST (and Baptist minister) Francis Belamy. One might think he's definitely responsible for the line "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, but that line was NOT in the original Pledge! It was added in 1954, and the addition of the words "under God" was pushed by the Roman Catholic group known as the "Knights of Columbus".

I attended Canton, Massachusetts public schools from 1960 through 1972. In the Canton Public Schools, each school day began with the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Everybody stood and recited it. In high school, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited over the public address system every morning. Each student was expected to stand and recite the Pledge at that time. But by the time I was a Junior, more than half of our homeroom was opting to NOT stand and recite the Pledge. This was the era of opposition to the Vietnam War, opposition to Richard Nixon, and exaltation of "Woodstock" and counter-cultural rock music. One day, Tony B. who was one of what I'd call the "leader/student council" type kids in the school came up to me and asked me, "WHY don't you stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance in homeroom?!" I was shocked because I DID stand and say it every day and I told him so.

"Oh...oh..." he replied in kind of a flustered manner, "I did not realize that. Sorry. I am just concerned that too many of us are NOT being patriotic and not saying the Pledge. That's GOOD. Keep it up!"

By Senior year, only TWO of us continued to stand and say the Pledge in our homeroom, Tony and me. One say Tony said to me, "It's not that I think it's THAT big of a deal, but if we stop saying it those kids will think they've won something." I felt that was true. It was NOT easy. A couple of times Tony was absent from school and I had to stand and say the Pledge by myself. Once as I did, a very liberal activist girl muttered, "blind obedience!" about me. That was really hurtful.

Now, to fast forward about twenty-five years, my son Jon was a kid who would NOT say the Pledge of Allegiance! Pretty much he'd stand with everybody at the Catholic high school but he refused to say it. One day I asked him WHY he refused to say it. Jon was pretty adamant that saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was idolatry. It was making the flag, a cloth, an object of respect, worship and allegiance. I disagreed with Jon, saying, "When I say the Pledge of Allegiance, I'm not really expressing allegiance to the FLAG, I'm expressing allegiance and support to the COUNTRY."

But Jon was pretty firm. "Think of the WORDS," he cautioned, "That's NOT what it says. It pledges allegiance to the flag, AND 'to the republic for which it stands'!"

You know, I did not have a comeback for that.

He was right.

Incidentally, another of Jon's criticisms of the Pledge of Allegiance is that in Evangelical Protestant churches in American often a "Pledge of Allegiance to the Christian flag" is recited, too. (Did you know there's a Protestant Christian flag?!) AND, a "Pledge of Allegiance to the Bible" is also often recited!

I still recite the Pledge of Allegiance when I'm at a public gathering and it's recited. But it HAS lost some of its luster for me. I honestly think it should be rewritten. That opening line, in my opinion, really DOESN'T reflect what I'm pledging allegiance to.

I'm inclined to think Brookline should keep the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. BUT I think it behooves all of us to consider the author of the pledge, the original intent of the pledge, the fact that there's nothing in the Constitution about saying a Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, AND the fact that most of us are more than happy to pledge our allegiance to the country SYMBOLIZED by the flag, but may not REALLY be so comfortable pledging allegiance TO THE FLAG.