I have some thoughts on our discussion of the pledge of allegiance from Monday. I wanted to sit and let them stew for a while so they can be well developed, but now I have some responses to the two questions that Dr. Banks posed to us.
1. Would you have your class say the pledge of allegiance?
Yes, I would. I think it is a valuable opportunity for teaching American values. These are my main points. Firstly, I would teach around it, it is at best useless if it is not explained and at worst it encourages students not to think about their nation. I would explain where it came from, what all the words mean, why we say it, and what we can learn from it. I would do this as part of the beginning of the year classroom routine setting so that they begin saying it while knowing it's meaning. I also think that the fact that our nation does not have liberty and justice for all, and it certainly doesn't, is a good reason to not say it, on the contrary, it turns the pledge to a call to action. I see the pledge as an oath of service to a symbol that stands for certain ideals. I believe these ideals to be good ones. A Republican form of government (in the classical sense of the word deriving from the Latin Res Publica meaning "the thing of the people", not the political party) with popular sovereignty, clear limits on the power of the government, checks and balances between different branches of government, and a written set of laws. One indivisible union of states who maintain their differences but work together towards a common good. Justice and liberty for all people before the law and among the citizenry. I think these ideals are good ones, and I also know that I do not live up to them, and that our nation and government do not always live up to them and have often flatly contradicted them. I see the space between ideals and reality to be the place where citizens can work to affect change, and by reminding ourselves and our students of these ideals, and making our oaths not to any person but to a set of principles, we become agents in the good work of bringing these ideals closer to reality.
2. Would you change any part of the pledge of allegiance?
No, it is beyond my power to do so. The pledge as it is has been appointed to be that way by the rightful authorities in government, and whether their decisions are good or ill, as an agent of the government it is my duty to represent it truthfully. If I were the person in power I would make one small tweak, and I think it is a good idea to ask students if they would change anything if they were the ones in power. Now, if the pledge I think perpetrated some great evil or lie, or put forth ideals that I believed to be harmful, for example if it promoted some sort of fascist or communist regime, I would not say it. However, I believe that the pledge is for the most part good for the reasons enumerated above. Secondly, I would not change it to a pledge to earth or humanity because we are not part of the government of earth or humanity, we are citizens of this nation, and it is our responsibility to do the good work in our own home. That is not to say that one should not advocate for people abroad, in fact it is good to do so, and I even think the government can be just in affecting change abroad. I think though that while one can have allegiance to all mankind, there is a special category of allegiance to one's own nation and this is called citizenship, and an oath like the pledge belongs within that context, there are other oaths that apply to our global neighbors. While the ideals may be for everyone, the responsibility for Americans is realizing them in America.
That was awfully long winded. The short version is this, The pledge is valuable for Americans as a way of improving America with ideals that are for everyone.
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