By Kailey Franklin, staff writer
For many of us, standing for the Pledge of Allegiance has been a daily ritual of the school day. Most people began this habit in kindergarten, and it has continued into high school for students at Indian Trail High School and Academy.
While debates concerning the Pledge usually begin with the phrase “under God,” they tend to ignore the issue with the Pledge itself. Despite promising “liberty and justice for all,” it seems to be that justice is only guaranteed for a small portion of the U.S.
The Pledge was originally called the Bellamy Salute, and it began with a military salute in 1892. According to ushistory.org, after reciting the “to the flag” verse of the Pledge, the arm would extend toward the flag.
It looked like the Nazi salute enough that Congress changed it to the hand-over-heart gesture in 1942.
The problem with the Pledge is that it calls for kids to pledge their allegiance to a country which may not be even inclined to accept, or in some cases, even defend them.
In Ferguson, Mo., the local police have done a horrific job protecting their citizens. In August, Officer Darren Wilson shot an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown.
Not surprisingly, people rallied to protest what Wilson had done. After three months of protest on the streets and on social media, the Grand Jury de- cided to not indict Wilson, who has since resigned, on Nov. 24.
The U.S. also struggles to accept and protect those in the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Queer and Questioning-Asexual (LGBTQA) community. According to transequality.org, about 78 percent of people who expressed a transgender or gender nonconformity while in school faced harassment, 35 percent faced physical assault, and 12 percent faced sexual violence.
But it doesn’t stop there. Since the tragedy of 9/11, those identifying with the Muslim faith have steadily faced more and more discrimination. According to a USA TODAY/Gallup poll, 39 percent of people fa- vored requiring Muslim people, including those who are U.S. citizens, to carry special identification.
At the Rocky Mountain High School, in Colorado, students recite the pledge only once a month. At the end of January last year, the school’s Cultural Arms
Club led the school to recite the Pledge in Arabic. Of course, this led to controversy. One reader of the local paper said, “If they wish to adapt the country as their own, then they need to learn the language and start speaking it as their first language,”
Many said similar things when Coca-Cola released their multilingual Super Bowl ad, in which people across many cultures sang “America the vBeautiful.”
The beauty of the Coca-Cola ad was the way it seamlessly converged a myriad of cultures. Those in the ad were united, despite speaking different languages.
Arguably, the Pledge is supposed to do the same. James B. Upham, who came up with the idea of the Pledge, wanted those reciting it to feel a united love for their country.
In order to achieve that sense of unity, people need to get over their petty prejudices, and accept those who are different. If people can do that, then maybe America can finally live up to its name the “melting pot.”