The Student News Site of Walt Whitman High School

The Black and White

The Student News Site of Walt Whitman High School

The Black and White

The Student News Site of Walt Whitman High School

The Black and White

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March 21, 2024

What has become of the Pledge of Allegiance? (Round Two!)

Last week, the Black & White received a letter under the alias of “H.” The envelope contained a flyer from the American Humanist Association encouraging its supporters to boycott the Pledge of Allegiance because of the nonsecular “under God” segment. The two words were added in 1954 because of the Red Scare and McCarthyism, which promoted “witch-hunts, blacklisting, and paranoias about communism,” the flyer said.

The Black & White Editorial Board wrote an article on the matter last year, pushing for the Pledge to be eliminated completely:

Students have many reasons to not participate in the Pledge. Some refuse to say it on religious grounds, arguing that the words “Under God” break the division between church and state. Others object to the Pledge for political reasons, saying that it is too propagandistic or is a violation of political freedom. There are also a significant number of international students who would rather pledge allegiance to their own country’s flag.

These points are all valid, but the flyer only asked for the Pledge to be secularized and not removed from the school system. However, in the context of high school, kids are rushing from one class to another and have little patience, especially in the wee hours of the morning, to rise from their seats and recite the same 31 words they’ve been reciting since grade school.

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Outside of school, the Pledge is recited when applying for a citizenship—one of the few times an adult must recite it. Within these circumstances the expression of American ideals is politically misused; immigrants are forced to say something that may not align with their religion or ideology.

The Pledge is outdated and the bottom line is, if you make anyone, young or old, repeat anything everyday for 180 days for twelve years, they’re bound to forget the meaning of what they’re saying. So now we see the routine become one of a brainless social norm, an easy act of defiance on the students’ part, or simple laziness. The Editorial Board said it best:

It’s true that the Pledge is an easy, well-known patriotic display. But teaching students from a young age to mindlessly recite slogans goes against the independent, critical thinking we teach in schools. If the Pledge no longer carries its traditional meaning—and students suggest that’s the case—then it’s time that we come up with a new way to begin the school day.

Although, the case still stands that “under God” unconstitutionally binds church and state, so why not take out the rest of it while you’re at it? The Pledge has lost all value at this point, and not a lot will reverse the patch of indifference etched into this generation’s brains. But with our “first world problems” and SGA elections we are all indirectly patriotic and acknowledge all that we have in our country, even if we don’t like to admit it.

I don’t doubt that we need a reminder of the privileges we enjoy as Americans. A morning review of current events might serve us better, or possibly a clip of the president’s most recent public address. It could last no longer than 15 seconds, the morning announcers could rattle off a few paraphrased points from major news sources. Something to shed light on the wonders we take for granted everyday would definitely do us some good.

Regardless of what the reminder is, it is important to remember how lucky we are to wake up every day in this country. Unfortunately, the Pledge is simply an ineffective means of doing so.

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