Back when my dad was in high school, he got sent to the principal’s office for not standing during the Pledge of Allegiance. He objected to saying the phrase “with liberty and justice for all.” He argued it should read, “with liberty and justice for some.”
He was right. It was the 1960s, and even with the progress of the civil rights movement, the fight for integration was far from complete.
Following my dad’s example, I refused to stand during the pledge when I was in eighth grade. And although I never got sent to the principal’s office, I did get a couple of lectures from disapproving teachers who thought I didn’t appreciate my country.
They were wrong. I did appreciate my country, and I still do. I appreciate it so much that I’m willing to accept the scorn of my superiors just to exercise the rights I have.
So this week, I tip my hat to the American Civil Liberties Union, local political group Neighbors for Peace, and all the students and parents who complained last month when an Evanston Township High School student got a detention for refusing to stand during the pledge.
They were right. And their complaints paid off, as the high school changed its policy last week, allowing students to sit during the pledge.
The trouble started last year when Illinois legislators changed a state law requiring the pledge to be recited each day in high schools. Before then the rule only applied to elementary schools.
In light of the new law, ETHS established a policy allowing students not wishing to say the pledge could either stand quietly or leave the room if they had religious objections. But until last month’s detention debacle, students could not remain seated as their form of protest.
The difference between standing silently and sitting is subtle but important. Those who stand silently can get by unnoticed. Those who sit say to the entire room, “We reject the pledge, no matter what others may think of us.”
Students need to have the right to make such a bold statement, perhaps even more than adults do. From an early age, we are taught that we live in a free country, that freedom of speech is and has always been one of our most cherished values.
What kind of message does it send to the impressionable young adults of this country when we tell them if they disagree, they had better stand silently and shut their mouths? With our government making controversial decisions every day that affect the lives of people at home and abroad, our future leaders need to realize that they can have a say today.
And the students will never learn that lesson so long as they get detention for sitting during the Pledge of Allegiance.
So to all the students at ETHS: Sit for the pledge, if that is what you believe is right. If your teacher makes fun of you, slouch a little bit. If the kid whose dad is in the military complains about it, put your feet up on your desk. If an administrator gets on your case, pop a stick of gum in your mouth and chomp away. Quietly read The Daily for a minute or just roll your eyes.
Remember, you’re right. And the history of a great nation is on your side.
