I dont take issue with my my kids doing it, but getting videos of the kids saying it at their MDO just looks weird to me, like they will be goose stepping to their next class when they are done.

Kids saying the pledge, weird or no?

Side note, we had to pledge allegiance to the Christian flag when I was in elementary and that was probably what I hated most about elementary school.

I can't imagine anyone comparing the Pledge to goose-stepping.

Well this is how it used to be performed

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No, it's not weird.

Not weird; can't have indoctrination without actually doing some indoctrining.

Now with that said, playing a National Anthem before a game between two teams from the same country and in the same sports league, is weird as ****.

Yes, it's weird. If you disagree you love Biden and Obama. And if you do agree, you love Trump.

Commies

No, but the amount of free time the OP seems to have these days is...

It's impressive that hedge managed to hack into the OPs account and post this thread

Geralt of Rivia said:

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It's impressive that hedge managed to hack into the OPs account and post this thread

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It's Sea Speed. I don't think the OP coming from him is that surprising.

Sea Speed said:

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I dont take issue with my my kids doing it, but getting videos of the kids saying it at their MDO just looks weird to me, like they will be goose stepping to their next class when they are done.

Kids saying the pledge, weird or no?

Side note, we had to pledge allegiance to the Christian flag when I was in elementary and that was probably what I hated most about elementary school.

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MDO?

My kids say it at their school. They also sing Texas, Our Texas. Im happy with it. A little bit of nationalism is a good thing. It's ok to believe that things are good here. It is ok to have pride in one's country. It's ok to say we live in the greatest country in the world. People can debate it but the way people immigrate here both legally and illegally for the last 250 years speaks truth to that. Extremism of nationalism and anti nationalism are both harmful to this country but saying that pledge isn't extreme, it's just good citizenship imo.

I think it's weird that people have a problem with the pledge or the national anthem.

The litmus test is, would it be weird/uncomfortable if very young German or Chinese children said a daily allegiance pledge to their flag?

HossAg said:

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Geralt of Rivia said:

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It's impressive that hedge managed to hack into the OPs account and post this thread

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It's Sea Speed. I don't think the OP coming from him is that surprising.

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Not too weird, though I suppose a bit unusual among nations. Other than perhaps the "under God" section, it's a pretty milquetoast statement. It's a recognition this nation is a single republic and dedicated to the (generally regarded as universal) ideals of liberty and justice. It's not a pledge to a specific political party or to a person or to an ethnicity. It's not even particularly binding - we're pledging allegiance to the republic, but not for any particular action the republic takes. It's largely a recognition that we as Americans are part of a greater whole.

My kid says the Texas and American pledge's courtesy of the public education system.

And on Veteran's Day they sang the song for all the military branches and invited all vets to attend. Very nice.

MarathonAg12 said:

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My kid says the Texas and American pledge's courtesy of the public education system.

And on Veteran's Day they sang the song for all the military branches and invited all vets to attend. Very nice.

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Do you live near a military base? I recall having to learn all of the branch songs (except the Coasties) as a kid.

Claude! said:

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MarathonAg12 said:

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My kid says the Texas and American pledge's courtesy of the public education system.

And on Veteran's Day they sang the song for all the military branches and invited all vets to attend. Very nice.

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Do you live near a military base? I recall having to learn all of the branch songs (except the Coasties) as a kid.

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I was stationed at Fort Hood last year and we recently moved down to Round Rock. Depends on your definition of near haha

But regardless, I think it meant more to my kiddo that they were able to pay their respects to Veteran's. Got to love those military brats!

State law in Texas for schools to do the Pledge of Allegiance and Texas Pledge, along with a moment of silence. Led the pledges for 11 years as a school principal. Not weird.

yeah, its weird to pledge allegiance to a flag. Not bad, just an odd phenomenon that culture has decided is normal.

Education is inculcation in someone's values, this is one of the better options.

Don't believe they are required to participate in pledge (at least no consequences) but it is required to occur and that they stand for it. My wife would stand on their head if they were not silent as required for the moment. Had to get her out even though she thought it might be justifiable not all juries might see it that way.

Ragnar Danneskjoldd said:

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yeah, its weird to pledge allegiance to a flag. Not bad, just an odd phenomenon that culture has decided is normal.

Education is inculcation in someone's values, this is one of the better options.

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Flag has a lot of importance to me. In the Army I salute the raising and lowering of the the flag, wear it on my right shoulder and I have seen how much respect that I get from other country's militaries when they see that flag on my uniform. It means a lot to other countries too.

Lastly, seeing flags being presented to my friend's two daughters at his funeral is something I will never forget.

I respect your decision though if you think it's weird. This is America.

UmustBKidding said:

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Don't believe they are required to participate in pledge (at least no consequences) but it is required to occur and that they stand for it. My wife would stand on their head if they were not silent as required for the moment. Had to get her out even though she thought it might be justifiable not all juries might see it that way.

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You are correct. That is the reason I said schools and not students. Every year I had to referee between a student and teacher because a kid would not participate. Tiresome.

MarathonAg12 said:

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Ragnar Danneskjoldd said:

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yeah, its weird to pledge allegiance to a flag. Not bad, just an odd phenomenon that culture has decided is normal.

Education is inculcation in someone's values, this is one of the better options.

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Flag has a lot of importance to me. In the Army I salute the raising and lowering of the the flag, wear it on my right shoulder and I have seen how much respect that I get from other country's militaries when they see that flag on my uniform. It means a lot to other countries too.

Lastly, seeing flags being presented to my friend's two daughters at his funeral is something I will never forget.

I respect your decision though if you think it's weird. This is America.

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I agree with the poster you quoted. Weird, but that doesn't mean bad. As a kid it was something that normal and routine to me, and I didn't think much of it. As I became an adult I saw it as a ritual that became weirder and weirder the more I thought about it. Visiting other countries and seeing how it wasn't a thing there was certainly a factor.

That doesn't mean the flag doesn't mean something. Either for the USA or elsewhere. I see the flag simply as a symbol of the USA. how different flags represent different countries is an interesting topic (hello fellow vexillology geeks). how you or someone else views the flag (e.g. a symbol of hope and freedom) is a subjective view and I am in no place to say whether it's right or wrong. I just find it a little strange to make kids recite a pledge as a ritual every day, when they don't fully understand its meaning or have strong feelings about it one way or another.

Just my opinion.

on one hand our government really sucks and has no relation to the republic as it was founded and is far more abusive to individual rights than anything the founders dealt with. on the other, i could understand saying the flag represents the ideals of the republic so its a good thing. At the end of the day, its a piece of cloth- the republic for which it stands has been replaced by an administrative state with centralized power. The constitution either permits or has failed to stop the government as it exists today, so I'm not sure what the ideals are anymore and dont recognize my countrymen

Children shouldnt worry about such things though.

*ducks*

Ag_N_Houston said:

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I think it's weird that people have a problem with the pledge or the national anthem.

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No one has a problem with the pledge or the national anthem. The question was whether or not it is weird to make children recite them every day at school.

And before anyone says "nO oNe Is FoRcInG tHeM tO rEcItE iT", it definitely didn't seem that way when I was in elementary school. Maybe it's different now. But it sure felt like something we were required to do. We memorized the words and went through the motions every day, but it never felt like it had any significance to it. It just felt like a chore.

I'm not sure if it's weird, but I'm not sure what purpose it serves. By the time a kid is in 6th grade, and they're saying it for the 1000th+ time, they're zoning out and just going through the motions. They're not really pledging their allegiance to anything.

This feels like the type of thing I would've had an opinion about a few years ago. I find that as I advance in age my giveadamn dwindles.

Bruce Almighty said:

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I'm not sure if it's weird, but I'm not sure what purpose it serves. By the time a kid is in 6th grade, and they're saying it for the 1000th+ time, they're zoning out and just going through the motions. They're not really pledging their allegiance to anything.

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I think it's a great civic routine in elementary school for sure. Agree it probably loses its value in middle school and high school.

Actually pretty sad someone would ask this question. Lord help us……

I can still vividly remember Catholic elementary school in Conroe, TX in the early 70's and gathering every morning in the breezeway to recite the pledge, sing America (my country, tis of thee), and the National Anthem. All the boys sporting crew cuts in blue pants and white shirts, with the girls in plaid skirts and white shirts.

And the nuns were nice until you crossed them. They would grab you by your ear (because your hair was too short) and drag you to the principal's office, so the mother nun could swat your ass with a device that would be classified as a weapon today.

But that was just for starters. Just wait until you got home and mom and dad made school punishment seem like child's play for embarrassing the family.

The good 'ol days. Come to think of it, we didn't have a problem with kids assaulting teachers or disrupting class.

Yall are getting hung up on the wrong thing here. A bunch of 4 year olds reciting the pledge for camera looks like a propaganda video. America is the land of opportunity.

Bruce Almighty said:

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I'm not sure if it's weird, but I'm not sure what purpose it serves. By the time a kid is in 6th grade, and they're saying it for the 1000th+ time, they're zoning out and just going through the motions. They're not really pledging their allegiance to anything.

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Kids are young -- there's no way a kindergartner can grasp the concept of American exceptionalism. I'd be willing to bet that many of the staunchest supporters of saying the pledge of allegiance are the same ones griping about how public schools are indoctrination centers.


Your comment made me think of this story about mindlessly repeating things.


When I was a senior in ROTC, our instructor made us memorize the Oath of Office and recite it at the beginning of every class. It was pretty natural that we all started going through the motions.

For our last class of the year, we went on a run. At the end of the run we ended up over at Sully or Rudder or something and he had us recite the oath one more time.

He talked to us how we'd been saying the oath a couple times a week for a year. We'd clearly learned the words, but he challenged us to really think about what it meant. The gravity of signing our name on the dotted line. Our consent to go wherever our nation sent us. Our promise to defend the Constitution.

And then he gave us a 2d Lt gold bar with the word OATH engraved on it and asked us to never forget what we promised to do.

I pinned that gold bar to the inside of my flight cap and wore it almost every day I was in uniform. I also got a little copy of the US Constitution and carried it in my pocket every day.

I am sure there are tons of people who take the oath (or recite liturgy in church, or say the pledge, or whatever) and never really think about it. But ever since that time I've always tried to watch out for simply reciting things.

/coolstarrybratldr