As long as I can reminder, kids in the United States have been
saying the pledge of allegiance at school in the morning. That was true in the
schools that I went to more than 50 years ago – and it is still true today,
even though not all the classrooms that I am in have a flag on the wall.
Have you even wondered when the custom started?
I’ve never felt that those words
would make me a good American. I still don’t, and I don’t think that other kids
should have to recite the pledge. Truth is, they don’t have to. State laws prevent
it from being required, based on a 1943
Supreme Court ruling. But state
laws still mandate that, whether it’s by a person or recording
over the loudspeaker, it has to be shared publicly in some form.
The pledge’s convoluted history doesn’t help. Francis Bellamy
created it in 1892 for The Youth’s Companion, a children’s
magazine published out of Boston, with a few goals. In no particular order, the
pledge was meant to sell magazines and flags for display; reunify the country
after the Civil War; commemorate the 400th anniversary of Christopher
Columbus’s voyage; promote patriotism among Americans; and make Americans out
of the large wave of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe.
The original version went: I pledge allegiance to my flag
and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. In 1923, “the flag of the United States of America”
was inserted so there was no question for immigrants as to which banner they
were promising their loyalty.
In 1954 came “under God.” The Korean War had just
ended the year before. The Soviet Union was testing atomic bombs, leading
school kids to practice hiding under their desks. The Supreme Court had ruled
in Brown v. Board of Education that “separate but equal” was
unconstitutional, and the NAACP, which fought for the case, was believed by
some to be infiltrated by Communists, a feeling shared about the civil rights
movement. All of this helped fuel the Red Scare, which Senator Joseph McCarthy
took advantage of. And so, those two words were added and signed into law by
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, to ensure everyone knew we weren’t godless
Communists, says Charles Dorn, professor of education at Bowdoin College and
co-author of Patriotic Education in a Global Age.
I don’t think the pledge has that kind of power;
it seems more like a box-to-check ritual. Peter Levine, professor of
citizenship and public affairs at Tufts University’s Jonathan Tisch College of
Civic Life, says two things add to the disconnect. For one, the pledge isn’t
written for young kids. (Hello, indivisible.) The second is that we don’t know if it works, which
is a shock since school officials love nothing more than test scores. But for
this 130-year tradition — nothing. Levine says we could find out. His idea: Ask
second-graders if they think they’re supposed to say “invisible.” Ask
11th-graders their feelings and measure the eye rolls.
It’s questionable whether the pledge increases patriotism, but
there IS something that can. It’s called civic lessons, and it is not taught as
much as it should be.
The American Civics Act requires that all Arizona students pass a basic civics test before graduating from high school. It was the first bill Governor Ducey signed, making Arizona the first state in the country to enact such a law.
"There may
be a lot of things that Democrats and Republicans disagree on but educating our
students about American civics is something almost everyone can agree is vital."
-Governor
Ducey, February 2017
The American Civics Act requires high school
students to correctly answer at least 60 out of 100 questions on a test identical
to the civics component of the naturalization test used by U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS). You can find a copy of the USCIS
Naturalization test here.
If you think that the idea of a civics test is a nutty idea, consider this fact.
Jimmy Kimmel (Lie Witness News), or one of the late-night
hosts, conducted a “man on the street interview in Los Angeles, and discovered
that a lot of people are surprisingly ignorant about civic affairs. One
respondent thought that there were 6 states, rather than 50. Another person could
not name the three branches of the government. Somebody else was not sure who
the president is. (That last question, of course, is tougher for MAGA
Republicans).
If it is not mandatory to recite the pledge of allegiance, is it
mandatory to stand for the playing of the national anthem?
Nope.
By now, you are familiar with Colin Kaepernick, who first
started “taking a knee” during the National Anthem during the 2016 NFL season,
His story is posted below:
https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2018/01/a-man-of-integrity.html
In August of 2016, prior to a National Football League preseason
game, San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Colin Kaepernick opted not to stand
during the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner."
Kaepernick
explained following the game, “I am not going to stand up to show
pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of
color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part
to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid
leave and getting away with murder.”
As
controversy over Kaepernick's decision spread, the NFL issued a
statement saying, "Players are
encouraged, but not required, to stand during the playing of the national anthem."
While
the NFL doesn’t require you stand when the anthem is played, the federal
government has a different take on whether you should.
Here’s
a quick look at what the United States Code says about how we should be
conducting ourselves in the presence of the country’s flag and at the playing
of the Star-Spangled Banner.
According
to Title 36 (section 171) of the United States Code, “During rendition of the
national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in
(military) uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right
hand over the heart. Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with
their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the
heart. Persons in uniform should render the military salute at the first note
of the anthem and retain this position until the last note. When the flag is
not displayed, those present should face toward the music and act in the same
manner they would if the flag were displayed there.”
The question, of course, is whether “should” in the first sentence
means “must” or “shall.”
So
does it, and what’s the penalty if I don’t stand?
No, it doesn't. Section 171 does not
specify nor impose penalties for violating the section of the code. According
to a Congressional Research Service report to Congress in 2008, “The Flag Code
is a codification of customs and rules established for the use of certain
civilians and civilian groups. No penalty or punishment is specified in the
Flag Code for display of the flag of the United States in a manner other than
as suggested. Cases ... have concluded that the Flag Code does not proscribe conduct
but is merely declaratory and advisory."
In other words, the Flag Code serves as a guide, and it is followed on
a voluntary basis. You won't be forced to stand for the National Anthem, nor
hauled off to jail if you don't. Cases brought because of something in the code
-- mainly ones that involve defacing the flag -- have made their way to
the U.S. Supreme Court where the justices have upheld that such conduct is
protected by the First Amendment.
If I am in a classroom that has a flag, I’ll probably put my
right hand over my heart while it is being read – but most students don’t do
that – and that does not bother me at all.
Sadly, the word “patriot” has now become a dirty word, since
it is now most often applied to the right-wing nut cases who still support The
Former Guy. The clowns that stormed the capitol on January 6 were not patriots.
They were terrorists – and many of them are now serving long
prison terms.
With a little luck, the guy most responsible for the riot (and
we all know who that is) will be doing that too.
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