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http://www.cnn.com/2002/EDUCATION/11/15/pennsylvania.patriotism.ap/index.html



Students are being required to recite the pledge of allegiance in school. They have the right to opt out, but their parents will be notified. Anyone else think they are beating a dead horse and should just leave the situation alone? Kids should not have to recite the pledge of allegiance if they don't want to, and they should not be pressured by their parents to do it either. This kind of seems synonymous with having parents till their children which religion to be, or which president to choose. They should be looking more closely at things like peer pressure, instead of trying to influence parental pressure.

what the hell is wrogn with pledging to our own country? Kids should be proud t pledge to the flag. Yeah that god thing is in there too but it was written a long ass time ago. I think it should be mandatory to say the pledge.



*patiently awaits atmas long rebuttal*

Do you want to have everyone with blonde hair and blue eyes as well Mr. Hitler?



Demanding that we say it is inherently against every principle our country is supposed to stand for. This isn't a socialistic or communistic nation. It's a republic.

now this was a perfect topic for the philosophy forum...



i think that there has to be some regulation reckless, sure you can't hold the same standard to everyone, but there must be some standard by which all are held, y'know? I personally think that the pledge is bullshit and i'm tired of saying it. if i don't want to say it, i won't say it. you gunna arrest me for not saying I pledge my allegiance to the country? for not doing so, do you really think i am against the country? c'mon, that's a little far.



but to say that nobody should be held to ANY standards, is just messed up reckless. sure we're not a totally communist nation, but neither are we totally a republic or democratic republic. i agree that some rules should not exist, but to have all rules not exist (which is anarchy) is wrong, so let the government take a yard, let them have it, making us say the pledge.

I haven't said the pledge since ninth grade, that was 6 years ago. Fuck that, My teachers used to tell me I had to do it or they wouldn't mark me there on the absentee bulletin but I laughed in thier faces and told them I don't believe in this country nor will I ever pledge my Allegience to it, I will pledge Allegience to Myself. I remember hearing a story of a Little fourth grade girl who refused to say it and they kicked her out of school. She claimed she would ONLY pledge allegience to God and to pledge it to the nation was Blasphomy and she refused, I am not religious but this totally out of control. I feel for that little girl and his "traitorious" Ways! lol,

Originally posted by potsy

what the hell is wrogn with pledging to our own country? Kids should be proud t pledge to the flag. Yeah that god thing is in there too but it was written a long ass time ago. I think it should be mandatory to say the pledge.



Ok, so you are a firm believer in the pledge, there is nothing wrong with that. I am proud to pledge the flag. I did it up until fourth grade, I have not said the pledge of allegiance since then, nor could I say it without hesitating and having to think about it for a moment. Do you know the ONLY reason why I stopped saying the pledge in fourth grade? Because I was being forced to. I do NOT like being forced to do things. I want a reasonable explanation for the things I am asked to do, and no teacher could give me a reasonable explanation. They said it was showing patriotism to the country and its forefathers. So... Just because I don't say the pledge, means that I am anti-patriotism? That is the biggest hunk of crap I've ever heard a teacher spew out of their mouths.



The God thing doesn't bother me at all, if they want to have satan in the pledge I don't care, it's simply a group of words phrased together to make a few sentences.



I am just not understanding how society today can wish that things such as speaking a phrase be mandatory. Yes, it should be mandatory to go to school. Yes, it should be mandatory to keep your attendance up. Yes, it should be mandatory for a policeman to say the miranda rights. I just don't see why it would be mandatory to make children, who don't know any better, say a phrase, that they do not understand to its fullest extent.



The reason why I posted the article was not because kids were being forced to recite the pledge of allegiance, that does not bother me one bit, as kids can just say no and start their own mini-revolutions in class. The reason why I posted the article was because they were bringing PARENTS into the situation. I know for a fact that my parents would laugh in a teachers face and tell them to get lost of the teacher bothered them over something this petty and useless. This is not the view of most parents, though. A lot of parents will tell their kids to recite the pledge because they have to. What is that instilling in a kids head? Kids *HATE* being potty trained, because it's something they are forced to do. Kids hate a lot of things, simply because they are FORCED to do them. The country is only going to give most of its youth a sour look on the pledge of allegiance. If I was not forced to say it in school, I would not have a problem with saying it now. The generation of kids that are coming up are going to be more rebellious than the last batch. We know this, we can look at history and see how children have evolved into self-thinking individuals. Kids used to never ever disobey a parent's direct order. It was unheard of. Yes, this is due in part because of child abuse laws and such, but that's just a part of it. Kids these days are going to grow up hating the things they were forced to do as a child. They are only going to grow up and look down at the pledge of allegiance, the constitution, and the country.



-This is solely the opinion of ME. The topics talked about in this rant are solely my opinion, and do not reflect every single man woman or child in this world. If you wish to criticize, please do. If you wish to critique, please do. If you wish to bitch, please don't.-





-edit- God damn, I'm sorry about the long ass post, I just kept typing away and didn't realize it. -edit-

What we had to recite it.......its not a kids choice, just like staying up past 10 at night is not there choice. If we let are kids decide what they are going to do all the time we will have a bunch of little brats runing around.



There is nothing wrong with having to recite the pledge!



Just as there is nothing wrong with spanking your children when they do wrong.......now if u look at ur child wrong you could be in trouble.



What the hell are we coming two, freedom ..... thats a dream!

I havent had to say it since i was like 10, but in kindergarden and 1st grade n stuff... like those little kids even understand what they're doing. Nobody ever explained it to us, just made us say it. I usually stood there with my mouth shut. Fuck em.

Originally posted by dxpac666

I havent had to say it since i was like 10, but in kindergarden and 1st grade n stuff... like those little kids even understand what they're doing. Nobody ever explained it to us, just made us say it. I usually stood there with my mouth shut. Fuck em.



Exactly my point. They didn't explain anything, they just said you have to recite this. Children know why they need to go to bed early. Every parent explains this to their children. They may not like it, but at least they know why they need to go to bed. Plus, if the kid does not want to sleep, he/she doesn't have to sleep. They can just lay there. They have a choice. Nobody explains the pledge of allegiance, and if they do, the kids are most likely to young to understand what it really means.

Requiring them to say anything is nothing less than communistic! There's nothing more you can say about that. When I say the pledge, as I do every week for student government at my college, I omit the one part. If I even say it at all.