Essay Sample on Reciting The Pledge of Allegiance
Is refusing to recite the pledge of allegiance during school considered disrespectful? There have been numerous debates on whether it is disrespectful. It has caused many problems among students and teachers within the classroom. The decision to not recite the pledge of allegiance during school is in no way disrespectful and is your first amendment right. The pledge of allegiance was not intended to pledge allegiance to soldiers when it was first written. Francis Bellamy wrote the pledge in 1892. The first version of the pledge stated, “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic, for which it stands,—one nation, indivisible—with liberty and justice for all.” Bellamy welcomed other countries to use the pledge because it used the pronoun “my” before “flag”. When students first recited this pledge on October 12, 1892, they were commemorating the 400th year anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s voyage. The pledge of allegiance did not start as a way of honoring the soldiers who fought for our freedom.
In 1943, regarding the case of West Virginia State board of education vs Barnette, the supreme court ruled that the first amendment protects a student’s right to not engage in the pledge of allegiance. Although the first amendment prohibits punishment for not reciting the pledge, a black sixth-grade student in Lakeland Florida was arrested after he engaged in an argument with a substitute teacher about why he did not recite the pledge. While the police claimed that he was arrested for disrupting class, it is still strange how a sixth-grader was arrested for defending his right to not recite the pledge.
While some agree with the statement that not reciting the pledge of allegiance is not disrespectful, many disagree. According to an article in the Washington Post written by Gary V. Hodge, refusal to stand or recite the pledge displays a lack of maturity. Gary states “There are real injustices in America that need correcting. But they need to be corrected in the name of the flag and the ideals it stands for.” Reciting the pledge and putting your hand over your heart shows respect and gratitude for soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom.
It is important to show our appreciation to the soldiers who have fought for our freedom, but our freedom is the only thing that the flag stands for. According to the pledge, the US is one nation under God that ensures liberty and justice for all. However, “liberty and justice for all” is not an accurate statement. Why should people of color stand for the flag or recite the pledge when they are not receiving the justice and liberty that the pledge promises? Systematic racism is still present in the United States and people of color are continuing to lose their lives in the hands of a system built on white supremacy. Teachers in an article published by PBS explain that they encourage their students to choose whether they recite the pledge at school. “My job as an educator is to give my students a voice. When they make a decision to stand up for what they believe in, I am not only in awe, but I am inspired.”
For students and citizens, in general, to stop arguing about one’s right to not recite the pledge of allegiance, people with more privilege need to realize that there is no “justice for all” in the US. Standing for the pledge of allegiance does not make you a better person or make you more American. Deciding to recite the pledge is a matter of your beliefs and arguments should not be fueled by this decision.
