My school the kids must stand at attention but can not say it. I am a high school teacher and I stand but do not say it for obvious reasons.

My problem with the PoA is the "under God" part. I never say these two words

Complete B.S. I am an Army Veteran and served 110 miles behind the Iron Curtain in West Berlin. Forced compliance is not freedom. The onset lately of adoration of authoritarian doctrine and leaders is scary. I blame the preachers and their brainwashing on Sundays that we must all comply. Damn sure not why I wore the unform.

E PLURIBUS UNUM! The words christians despise, and I enjoy saying them.

I've never liked that or playing the National Anthem at ball games. It smacks of nationalism, and that can be dangerous.

I was in first or second grade when they added the words "under God". I was never comportable with that and stopped saying it many years ago. Since 9-11 we are suppsoed to say the pledge at everything including garden club. (I can't go talk about plants without declaring my allegiance???) I love the comments and am going to start taking a stronger stand.

"I pledge impertinence to flag-waving of the unindicted co-conspirators of America, and to the Republicans for which I can't stand: abomination, underhanded fraud, inexcusable, with liberty and justice, forget it!"--Matt Groening, LIFE IN HELL

The only useful purpose of the pledge is as a cue to answer "What country do you live in?" I don't stand or say it ever. I also talk during the 30 seconds of silence bs.

No one can be forced to stand, nor can they be made to leave the room. Period. When I was in school, they used to send me out into the hallway. I was religious, and refused to pray to a piece of cloth. Now I'm an atheist, and I refuse to pray to a piece of cloth. (PS: We did sue the school, and no one was ostracized for refusing to pledge thereafter.)

Good for you! I wish you had been my teacher when I was in school. I HATE the Pledge of Allegiance, and I sit it out whenever the opportunity arises. I used to just skip "under god," but now I skip the whole thing. I kneel for the National Anthem. I also dislike the motto "In god we trust." I take "E Pluribus Unum" as the real national motto.

I am especially embarrassed to be American in the days of this Fake President.

Yes, please contact the ACLU. With their help, I hope you win the case against forcing people to recite a pledge.

My opinion has changed with the times, I think you handled it perfectly. When my thinking was different I was not in tune with the oppressed, know that I am I stand with them, or sit... I have much more of a world view now than I did in 1976 when I was 13 and waving a flag in New York Harbor for the bicentennial. Love this country and it’s Flag but until it waves equally for every American it will never feel like it did in 76... That said, I refuse to allow Republicans and the GOP hijack our symbols, half mast until conditions improve! I’m a New Yorker who believed in the great melting pot... I want us to be the country the Statue of Liberty stands for... if we don’t fix things soon I’ll have to start Looking towards Brooklyn when I’m on the Staten Island ferry.

I was raised a Jehovah's Witness myself and now that I'm out I feel personally it's wrong to compel anyone to stand for the pledge or the anthem.
Regardless of the reason...Forced patriotism isn't patriotism..Its facisim plain and simple...

I'm also a vet..Just got out in August and I fully support a person's choice to stand or not to stand and when people say it's insulting to our military..No I feel it's insulting to try and force people to take these steps because you're supposed to have the right to do so because of the military... Also if a person sits or takes a knee or whatever as a form of protest..Well hey that's cool too! It's a peaceful protest and to me that's just awesome!

I'm a school librarian, and I spend the first 20 minutes of every school day in an elementary classroom for academic intervention (which is really just some worksheets they call "morning work.) This year, I'm in a third grade classroom. I'm in there during the pledge which is lead by some high school students on the morning announcements which are played on the screen.

I stand and say the pledge, but I don't say "under god." Sometimes, I see a kid trying to take a peek at me because I think someone has realized that I don't say it and has spread the word, and they want to check for themselves. So, just to be tricky, I sometimes make a light cough or scratch my nose (obscuring my mouth), or sometimes I mutter "and a guy" or jibberish to disguise the fact that I'm not saying "under god." I hate that I have to do this, but I don't want any hassle or controversy, and I also don't want to go against my own principles.

But beyond just the "under god" part, I DO have a problem with the pledge in general. No kid recites the pledge with reverence and a deep understanding of what he's doing. It's just thing that they have to do. It ends up being meaningless. I love my country, and that love comes from an actual understanding of our history, some of which has been great, and some of which has been awful. A rote recitation of allegiance, to me, actually CHEAPENS that love of country.

I think that what you did with your students did far more to connect them to our country's history and values than any recitation could. Bravo to you.

My allegiance is to the constitution. Not to any symbol. Nor piece of ground.

First, it is unconstitutional to force anyone to make the pledge of allegiance. It has been so since 1943. As far as I know, we here in the US and ironically North Korea are the only ones in the world who carry it to such extremes. Other countries where a pledge is common, but not overbearing are:

Mexico
Philippines
India
China
Singapore
Turkey

Countries that don’t:

All European countries.
Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Most countries around the world have rituals related to their flags and their national anthems that are innocuous in nature.

We have history to look at and should learn one major lesson from it: Nationalism is the primordial swill from which emerges tyrants, despots, and dictators.

Just for completeness, here is the original (with some editory comments from Wiki):

It was originally published in The Youth's Companion on September 8, 1892. Bellamy had hoped that the pledge would be used by citizens in any country. In its original form it read: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

This from:

[ushistory.org]

I have no real issue with this, the original, version.

Saying the pledge, particularly making it compulsory for children to say it in school, does nothing more than promote nationalism, an inherently unhealthy mindset. It instantly creates a mentality of "us versus them," or "we're better," or "we are the chosen." In children, it conditions them, moving them into this way of thinking with each repetition. Forget "under god." I say get rid of the whole thing.

As I have watched the US diverge from its ideals, I have come to realize that my "allegiance" is the idea if a free, open, and just society; not to a country.

Take "under God" out and it's still indoctrination.

I believe it should be a choice, and not thrust upon those too young to fully understand what it means to swear fealty for life to something. Just as with religion people should not be indoctrinated in from birth, bit when they are old enough to make that choice

Sheesh! I hope the ACLU helps you!

I don't have anything to add to the good advice others have suggested here, but I admire your thoughtfulness and fortitude. Those young people need teachers who will listen to them and respect their opinions.

[ushistory.org]

It's still difficult for me to beleive that we have states that MAKE the kids recite the pledge every day. Forced patriotism makes me think of all of the bullshit going on in China. If I didn't love my country, I wouldn't be here. However, you can love something and still know for a fact that it needs to be improved upon.

I don't mind that its an option, but I never went 4 it being mandatory. Even when I was in grade school, when I decided 2 stop doing it, they were upset, and they tried 2 make me do it, but honestly they can't. They don't have the ability 2 make words come out of my mouth. At least not easily at their disposal. They tried 4 a while and eventually they gave up.