The Pledge of Allegiance should be said in public schools Research Paper

The Pledge of Allegiance should be said in public schools - Research Paper Example The pledge is a promise that Americans make to their country. ‘Allegiance’ means that one is loyal to the country. The flag is the symbol of America. ‘Republic’ means a democratic space where people are guaranteed the rights to take part in electioneering politics and voting processes. ‘One nation’ stands for a unified America. â€Å"Under God† symbolizes the people’s reverence of God as the source of blessing upon America. ‘Indivisible’ means that the states of America should not divide for any reason. ‘Liberty’ means that the people have freedom to pursue their interests without inhibition while ‘justice for all’ means that everyone in America would be treated fairly according to the law and the founding values of the country. Having been created in 1892, The Pledge of Allegiance should be said in public schools. It is a historical reminder of what America is about. The magazine, ‘The Youth’s Companion’ on September 8, 1892 published the words of the Allegiance Pledge. It intended to have students recite it at school during the commemoration of Columbus Day in 1892. On October 12, 1892, an approximated 12 million children in America recited the word of the Pledge of Allegiance, marking the beginning of what would become a school tradition in America (Streufert, para 1). ... Streufert (para 3) further added that only a half of the states currently have laws that encourage the recitation of the pledge by children in classrooms. This shows of how the great significance of the Pledge of Allegiance has waned in the country. The Pledge of Allegiance has been met with several challenges in the recent times because of the addition of the phrase ‘under God’ to it. According to Conton (para 1-2), the phrase ‘under God’ has brought several lawsuits that challenge the pledge as violating equal rights of the multicultural diversity in America. Kevin Conton is the national editor for CNN in Massachusetts. The latest lawsuits that challenge the pledge on grounds of religious discrimination have always failed one after the other. The basis of their failures in courts across the U.S. is because the Pledge of Allegiance does not have a compulsory clause that forces one to recite it if they feel that it violates their equal rights (Conton para 6) . Despite the ongoing legal battles of the constitutionality of the phrase ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance, Americans should understand one fact that the pledge does not criminalize those who feel violated from reciting it. There are several inevitable values that American citizens should remind themselves of through recitation of the pledge in public schools. It does not mean that everyone in public schools should be forced to recite it. However, American children who feel obliged to reconnect with American values and history through recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance should be given an opportunity to do so because they have the liberty to enjoy that freedom. The differences in opinions of those who support the Pledge of Allegiance and those oppose it could just be a healthy part of