04/21/07

Should children be taught from an early age that the American flag is something to be revered and respected?  Where better to teach the values of civic responsibility and love of country than in the classroom?  Conversely, should school children be forced to stand, put their hand over their hearts, and recite a pledge, affirming loyalty to something they don’t fully support?  Do they have a right to refuse?

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to The Republic for which it stands…”  The Pledge of Allegiance has favored great affection and stark criticism since it was officially recognized as the national pledge by Congress on December 28, 1945.  While many believe that the pledge affirms people’s loyalty to and respect for the American flag and all the freedoms that it represents, the Pledge’s place in public schools has drawn legal challenges on the grounds that it violates the very freedoms it exalts.

 The most contentious issues in relation to the Pledge of Allegiance are the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment.  Groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses have argued that reciting a pledge of loyalty to something less than God itself is tantamount to idolatry (Minersville School District v. Gobitis, West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette).  On the other hand, groups like atheists, agnostics, and polythesists maintain that the phrase, “under God,” is a violation of establishment of religion in the public school system (Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow).

 Two recent controversies have stirred the debate even further.  Recently, Congress has weighed in with H.R. 2389, a bill that would take the power to consider legal challenges to the Pledge of Allegiance out of the Supreme Court and other federal courts.  While the bill passed the House of Representatives in July 2006, the Senate has yet to consider it.  Additionally, a Florida district court heard Frazier v. Alexandre in 2006 and ruled that, “a 1942 state law requiring students to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.”  In effect, the district court found that no person can be forced to participate in any way in the recitation of the Pledge.

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