Radley Balko's take on the Pledge:
"…I certainly don't think it's the federal government's (or a judge's) responsibility to ban the Pledge. Nor do I think any government — state, federal or local — should mandate it. If American Legions and Rotary Clubs want to use the Pledge to affirm their patriotism, more power to them. But I think it's irresponsible and a little fascist for school administrators to ritualize it in the classroom."
Agreed. I've probably said the Pledge a thousand times in Boy Scout meetings, before class, at public meetings, etc. One thing I will not tolerate is some "patriot" mandating that my child MUST adher to his or her own belief system and be required to spout this loyalty oath whenever they demand it. While the Supreme Court did rule that a person could not be required to recite the Pledge, school districts all over the country have ignored that ruling for years. Exclusion of children from school activities and outright suspensions still occur, in spite of the ruling.
It has nothing to do with education (as Radley succintly pointed out yesterday) and everything to do with forcing "patriotism", as if reciting the Pledge makes one a patriot. I remember the horrified look on my German girlfriend's (foreign exchange student) face in high school as we stood up to say the Pledge in class. She called it "flag worship." For obvious reasons this Berlin girl was disturbed. I'd say "flag worship" is a fairly accurate description. Of course, as a libertarian, not a modern liberal, I believe in the right of anyone to take this loyalty oath whenever they want, but for anyone to say that they have the right to FORCE someone else to partake of it is more than a little on the fascist side and completely removed from anything connected with individual rights or even education. Forcing others (excluding kids from school events for not reciting the pledge is a means of forcing them to participate) to recite the Pledge IS indeed a form of control, even if we've all done it hundreds, if not thousands of times. I don't care how many times I have voluntarily done it. Requiring it once is once too many. Freedom, it's not conservative or liberal, it's an individual thang.