Franke: The Pledge of Allegiance
by Mark Franke
I saw a recent news report of a school classroom in Tennessee that got a very practical lesson in why America has an official Pledge of Allegiance.
A substitute teacher was surprised that most students remained seated during the school’s recitation of the Pledge. Confused, he asked them why. Most couldn’t provide an answer other than some said they didn’t agree with several of the nation’s current policies.
It became, as professional educators are wont to say, a teachable moment. He had the students read novels by former Navy SEAL Jack Carr. His books are reputed to be thrillers, always a popular genre, replete with themes of service and sacrifice — the stuff patriotism is made of.
(In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit I have not read any of Carr’s books but resolve to correct that deficiency yet this summer.)
It worked. More students began standing for the Pledge and encouraging classmates to do the same. Class discussions were more participatory and a better understanding of the true meaning of patriotism was observed.
Which leads to two questions. First, how long had this been going with at least implicit acceptance by the school hierarchy? Second, why did it take a substitute teacher to address it?
As Americans we have the right to refuse to stand for Pledge as a matter of free speech but this presumably is based on a principle such as religious belief. I had a close friend in high school who did not recite the Pledge because he was a Jehovah’s Witness and that faith considers such reverence a form of idolatry. His principled decision was clear and respectfully observed.
No clear principle like that of my former classmate was evident in this Tennessee school. I suggest that civics education is sadly lacking there, as attested by that conscientious substitute teacher.
I can offer two personal examples of a much more positive response. At the Lutheran elementary school where I am a volunteer, I was asked by the kindergarten teacher to come to her class to talk about flag etiquette. These kids, whose classroom windows look out at the school flagpole, see the colors posted and retired each day by the older kids.
I explained how the flag is raised every morning and why some days it is at half-staff. I brought two eighth graders with me to demonstrate how the American flag is folded 13 times, once for each of the original states. I explained why the flag should never touch the ground or otherwise be mistreated. Finally, I told them that when a flag is too tattered to display, it should be taken to an American Legion post for a solemn burning ceremony.
The teacher finally had to cut off the questions due to time.
The second event happened as I got to the entry gate for a Fort Wayne TInCaps game. Just as I arrived, the national anthem began. Everyone at the gate and in the concourse stopped and turned to the field, including my ticket taker.
I submit that my small dataset is evidence of an America that still cares about her flag, the Pledge and all our patriotic symbols. We cared about our nation’s symbols throughout our history, given the number of federal holidays that we observe directly related to our Republic and its founding principles. We start the summer with Memorial Day in May then move into June with Flag Day and on to Independence Day on July 4. But we aren’t done with our remembrances. There is Patriot Day and Constitution Day in September, and then Veterans Day in November.
Two more personal examples support my case. A veteran friend at my American Legion post puts a friendly notice in mailboxes when he sees a flag that has outlived its natural life. He told me that most respond positively to the suggestion, with a new flag displayed in short order.
Also, my neighbors began a tradition several years ago to line our curb with small American flags for patriotic holidays. I counted the number on Memorial Day and there were over 100 along our short cul-de-sac. It will be an especially colorful summer for my street as we celebrate our 250th anniversary on July 4th.
That said, it is important to recognize that the flag is a symbol of our aspirations as Americans. It represents what we truly are, even if imperfectly, and what we proclaim to the rest of the world. It points to America’s great experiment in self-governance constrained by each citizen’s “unalienable rights.”
Old Glory reminds us every time we pledge allegiance to it that we have a heritage handed down to us as “one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Mark Franke, M.B.A., an adjunct scholar of the Indiana Policy Review and its book reviewer, is formerly an associate vice-chancellor at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
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