Spring Break
"Pledge" routine robs it of its significance
Jamie Thomson
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: Ed-Op
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If you grew up in America and went to public school, you've said it. It's one of the first things you were taught, probably the first thing you memorized. It was part of your daily morning routine: the Pledge of Allegiance.
This American tradition came under fire a few years ago when staunch atheist Michael Newdow brought legal action against the state because he believed the phrase "under God" violated separation of church and state and pushed a religious viewpoint on his elementary-aged daughter.
The case made it all the way to the Supreme Court, where it was considered by a few judges and then thrown out on a technicality.
As an agnostic high school student in an extremely religious, conservative area, I was intrigued by the case. For the past 11 years of my life, 180 days out of the year had begun with that familiar mantra. But what was this "pledge" that we had been trained to utter daily since we were five-years-old? What did it mean? I sat down one day to dissect it and came to the conclusion that the United States at that time was not fulfilling its end of the bargain. There were a few points of contention; the three clinchers tugged at my conscience: "under God, One nation … indivisible," and "with liberty and justice for all."
The original pledge was part of a public school celebration of Columbus Day in 1892, and though in that program it was followed by an acknowledgement of God and prayer, the pledge itself had no mention of God.
Instead, author Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, deliberately emphasized the fundamental principles of "liberty and justice" upon which the country had been founded, and the strength of the republic which had been restored following the Civil War. As Dr. John Baer points out in his book The Pledge Of Allegiance: A Centennial History, Bellamy acknowledged that religion and public education were strictly separate institutions in his speech during the Columbus Day proceedings:
"Our fathers in their wisdom knew that the foundations of liberty, fraternity, and equality must be universal education. The free school, therefore, was conceived as the cornerstone of the Republic.
This American tradition came under fire a few years ago when staunch atheist Michael Newdow brought legal action against the state because he believed the phrase "under God" violated separation of church and state and pushed a religious viewpoint on his elementary-aged daughter.
The case made it all the way to the Supreme Court, where it was considered by a few judges and then thrown out on a technicality.
As an agnostic high school student in an extremely religious, conservative area, I was intrigued by the case. For the past 11 years of my life, 180 days out of the year had begun with that familiar mantra. But what was this "pledge" that we had been trained to utter daily since we were five-years-old? What did it mean? I sat down one day to dissect it and came to the conclusion that the United States at that time was not fulfilling its end of the bargain. There were a few points of contention; the three clinchers tugged at my conscience: "under God, One nation … indivisible," and "with liberty and justice for all."
The original pledge was part of a public school celebration of Columbus Day in 1892, and though in that program it was followed by an acknowledgement of God and prayer, the pledge itself had no mention of God.
Instead, author Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, deliberately emphasized the fundamental principles of "liberty and justice" upon which the country had been founded, and the strength of the republic which had been restored following the Civil War. As Dr. John Baer points out in his book The Pledge Of Allegiance: A Centennial History, Bellamy acknowledged that religion and public education were strictly separate institutions in his speech during the Columbus Day proceedings:
"Our fathers in their wisdom knew that the foundations of liberty, fraternity, and equality must be universal education. The free school, therefore, was conceived as the cornerstone of the Republic.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Michael
posted 12/08/07 @ 4:56 PM EST
An excellent article! I wonder what happens to children who opt out of the pledge. Are they teased outside of class or after school?
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