A Pledge

My child will not say the "Pledge of Allegiance" until he knows what the words pledge, allegiance, flag, united states of america, republic, liberty, nation, under god, indivisible, liberty and justice mean. If he decides that he favors a parliamentary system over small r republicanism, he may want to refrain from saying it.

Socialist Minister Francis Bellamy might be amazed at how his plea for national reconciliation in 1892 has been turned into an indoctrination experiment by the more reactionary forces in our society. When you become a citizen, or join the military, you are required to take a pledge... once and you are an adult. If a child shows up to school almost every day for twelve years, they will have had two thousand "opportunities" to recite a loyalty oath. Overkill?

Forget the "Under God" controversy and intellectually picture what it means to have six year olds declaring that they don't believe in the rights of states to divide from the union; the nation is indivisible after all.

History and civics lessons are often jingoistic. Thankfully, most of these lessons are taught but once. Perhaps insisting that your child be taught what words means before they are told to give a loyalty oath would be a move in a progressive direction.