He’s sick and tired of empty patriotism

The Pledge of Allegiance should be removed entirely. I’m a 17-year-old who’s sick and tired of empty patriotism. You know the kind – waving flags, singing “God Bless America,” and cheering about everything in the good ol’ USA. However, we neglect to realize that everything in the USA is not good. While flaunting these signs of patriotism we somehow happen to surrender everything people have fought and died for.

With so much fuss made over the things that are meant to symbolize America, there is a tendency to forget that what makes the United States unique is not a pledge, a flag, or a song. The USA is unique because of a body of law and the people who have chosen to live under that law.

With the opinions and debate based on the Pledge of Allegiance running rampant across the country currently, I am able to reflect on instances where my liberty was obstructed due to this pledge. In my government class I refused to stand for the pledge. My refusal to stand and participate in the pledge is a choice I have always held true to. However, my patriotic teacher informed me that I would have to go to the office and receive a referral for my refusal to stand. I, of course, stood and looked at the flag in disgust. This is all over a pledge that is ‘optional.’ In my normal first period class, French, standing for the flag truly is optional. Although I was the only one to not stand, I was soon called a communist by the teacher (in reference to the red scare). Although no outright punishment was presented in this situation, it was still an affront to my personal choice not to acknowledge the pledge as something I valued.

If you ask me, if it is necessary for a person to say the Pledge of Allegiance every day as evidence of their loyalty, they aren’t any more likely to be a traitor then someone who doesn’t. This so-called “pledge of allegiance” is meaningless and unconstitutional. It should’ve been banned a long time ago.

Everett