One of the key cornerstones in an educational day in the United States is reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Normally the task is completed at the beginning of the day. Originally scripted by Francis Bellany and James Upham in 1892to celebrate Christopher Columbus for making a discovery of the New World, the Pledge of Allegiance has been surrounded by a lot of controversies. Some teachers and students do not understand the meaning of doing so. Nowadays the majority of the people, particularly opponents perceive recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance as an act of infringing on religious beliefs of children. Proponents, on the other hand, see the Pledge as a great honor for the United States of America.
The controversy surrounding the Pledge of Allegiance is mainly the words “Under God”. Proponents believe that it is right for the pledge to have the two words because the foundations of the United States are mainly on the religion of Christianity. Reflecting on the historical background of the Pledge of Allegiance, it has undergone modifications four times. The major modification that has brought controversies is the one done in the mid-50s. In June 1954, the Congress included the Pledge of Allegiance to be part of the United States Flag Code during the Second World War (Sibley, 2017). Officially the words “under God” were added and sparked a lot of opposition, particularly from the Supreme Court. Since the addition of the two words the pledge of allegiance has faced numerous hearings in judicial courts. In 1943, controversy ensued with the Supreme Court ruling that school children would not be forced into reciting the pledge of allegiance.
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Disputing of the pledge of allegiance in schools arises from the belief that making it a requirement is going against the United States of America Constitution. Furthermore, according to the First Amendment, freedom of speech on the basis of religion is allowed (Montgomery, 2015). Thus making a child recite the pledge, particularly the words “under God” is unethical.
Others believe that the main reason for citing the pledge of allegiance is to instill patriotism and loyalty among students. That is why proponents believe it should not be disputed against because it is not an oath and is not binding to any student. Another reason why supporters of the pledge of allegiance believe it could be so important is because of the history associated with it (Benus, Martin & Lauzon, 2015). The pledge has been so prominent in the American society to the extent that abandoning it could be seen as diverting from the traditional requirements put in place by the Founding Fathers in the education arena.
Often there have been court cases following students who have refused to cite the pledge of allegiance (Montgomery, 2015). This is conducted on a daily basis in most schools across the United States of America. Some students cite that they have strong religious backgrounds and thus cannot cite the pledge of allegiance. Others claim that they are forced to conform to citing the pledge in order to fit with the rest of the classroom.
As an educational leader, carrying out research on the pledge of allegiance has impacted me in a number of ways. I am a stickler to the following of rules but this is the 5th year since I stopped saying the allegiance. The reason I feel it does not make sense is due to the words liberty and justice for all. Looking at America there are a lot of injustices going on particularly for the minority ethnic groups. The more I see injustices, the more I oppose the significance of the pledge of allegiance. There are better ways to show patriotism to America other than daily repetition of 31 words that infringing on rights of others.
References
Benus, M. J., Martin, L. A., & Lauzon, G. P. (2016). Does Pledging Allegiance to the Flag Have Educational Value?. Schools , 13 (2), 312-338.
Montgomery, J. J. (2015). Controversies over the Pledge of Allegiance in Public Schools: Case Studies Involving State Law, 9/11, and the Culture Wars (Doctoral dissertation).
Sibley, Z. (2017). Justice for all?: the Pledge of Allegiance as a site of surveillance and discipline in American culture and classrooms.
