Middle School Vlog
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The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 Francis Bellamy. He wrote it to encourage U.S. citizens to be proud of their country and build unity. It's first version read: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."In 1923, they added... "the Flag of the United States of America." "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."In 1954, the world was under communist thread. President Eisenhower asked Congress to add the words "under God," This was the last change. Our current pledge is: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."Section 4 of the Flag Code states: The code that Bellamy wrote along with the pledge indicated that all people should stand and salute the flag. In World War II, the salute too much resembled the Nazi salute, so it was changed to keep the right hand over the heart throughout. School children were required to recite this pledge daily for decades. There was no "opting out." In 2005, a court ruled in Myers v. Loudoun County Public Schools that a Virginia statute requiring daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance does not violate first amendment. However, the statute also provided that “no student shall be compelled to recite the Pledge if he, his parent or legal guardian objects on religious, philosophical or other grounds to his participating in this exercise.” (Hudson) . This means that schools can have the pledge every morning, but they cannot require students to participate. Multiple Jehovah Witness family lawsuits resulted in this decision. The argument still continues, however. Do the words "under god" make this unconstitutional in a school setting to even conduct whole group. Litigation is ongoing. If the first amendment provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," then I believe the conducting of this pledge whole group within publicly funded schools is against the constitution. We have to view all these cases from the viewpoint of all people. If someone is atheist they may feel uncomfortable with the words "under God." Our founders made it clear that the government should not dictate or decide religion. Our constitution provides rights for people to worship (or not worship) however they like. These religious words should be dropped if school children are going to be asked to stand and recite it. "Religion" can be anything today. The Rastafarians worship ganja (marijuana). Should we then allow Rastafarians to smoke weed at school? I believe our founders would say "No." Many Christians argue that America was founded on Christianity. This is not true. It was founded on "freedom of religion." If over time our country became primarily Muslim, these Christians would not be ok with our schools having prayer to Allah at the same time during every school day. So...they should respect the rights of every citizen to conduct their religious activities on their own time, in their own way, outside of state sanctioned environments. This pledge has many positive aspects. It helps us feel unified. It promotes pride in America. These are not bad things. They just need to be conducted outside of the school day. Take a second to watch this video. After watching it...you decide...what is the right decision on the use of "under God.?" Share your position. Work Cited: Hudson,David.ww.freedomforuminstitute.org/first-amendment-center/topics/freedom-of-speech-2/k-12-public-school-student-expression/pledge-of-allegiance/. Sept. 5,2019.
8 Comments
9/26/2019 09:14:28 am
I personally think we should keep out the "under god" statement, because if this is suppose to represent a united nation meaning all should be equal, the pledge of allegiance should be able to apply to all peoples religious beliefs.
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Miranda
9/26/2019 09:22:03 am
I think they should not keep the "under god" in the pledge because it goes against freedom of religion, or people of different religions shouldn't have to pledge under it.
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Janessa Castillo
9/27/2019 05:14:57 pm
In my opinion, they should remove "under God" in the pledge of allegiance, here's why:
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Dakota
10/3/2019 09:37:28 am
I think it is wrong for them to have the line "Under God" in the pledge of allegiance because some people's faith do not follow under the rule of God and they should have to be forced to say it if it is not part of their faith. Not only does it go against people's faith but it is also against the freedom of religion.
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Kimberly
10/3/2019 12:42:31 pm
I feel that the Pledge of Allegiance was change over time because people wanted everyone to feel that they have to have the same religion and believe in the same thing, but if you have the freedom of religion then you don't need to believe the same thing,
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Ethan
10/3/2019 04:00:52 pm
I think people should not have to say this because the Bill of Rights was made for many reasons including freedom of religion so that people can make their own decisions if they want to be apart of a religion or not and not to be forced to participate in religions they don't believe in.
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Elizabeth
10/7/2019 10:05:59 pm
I believe the word "under god" should be removed. I believe this because some people don't believe in god. They shouldn't have to be forced to say the pledge of allegiance. Freedom of religion is meant to have people to believe in there own religion not what everyone else believes, "under god" is against that. Children are treated differently then others they don't have to do the same thing. People aren't supposed to be forced of what they don't believe.
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Kimberly
10/9/2019 02:59:49 pm
In school Kids get in trouble for not doing the pledge of allegiance, because it goes against school rules, with the Pledge of Allegiance goes against the First Amendment, the freedom of religion.
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